Destiny
by buffygirl52789
Summary: All actions have consequences, and whether they like it or not, their destinies are forever entwined. Continuation of the RafeAlisonCalebLivvie storyline after the series finale.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Port Charles and all of its characters and storylines belong to ABC.

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: the entire series through the series finale

Pairings: you'll have to wait and see...

A/N: I've been wanting to write a continuation ever since Port Charles was unfairly pulled from our screens two years ago, and now its finally happening! The way that the show ended left so many stories to be told, and now I am taking the opportunity to tell them as I honestly think they would have happened had the show continued. I am going to focus this fic on the Rafe/Alison/Caleb/Livvie storyline, and I am not going to come out and say what the pairings are right away, because as on soaps they will change as the fic goes on, but remember that if at any point you don't like where I take this fic that I am writing this how I believe it would have happened. I know right now who I am going to have end up together in the end. So you have to trust me. :-)

Dedication: To the entire cast and crew of Port Charles, thank you so much for bringing us so much wonderful television for 6 years. Especially to executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers, headwriter James H. Brown, series creators Carolyn and Richard Culliton and Wendy Riche, and most of all actors Erin Hershey Presley, Brian Gaskill, Michael Easton, and Kelly Monaco, without whom the excellent storyline this fic is based upon would not be possible.

> > > > >

Prologue

"Bye! Thank you so much for coming!" Alison called out as they watched their family and friends depart the bed and breakfast. One hand was wrapped around the waist of her new husband while the other waved farewell.

Rafe leaned down and kissed the top of her head as their guests pulled down the driveway to head back to Port Charles. "I take it you liked your surprise."

She grinned up at him. "Rafe, you know me too well. Even though I swore up and down that I was fine getting married just the two of us, you made the day perfect. Thank you so much."

Rafe shrugged. "Well, I also knew that Lucy would never forgive me if we got married without her."

Alison leaned her head against her new husband's shoulder. The wedding itself had ended about an hour ago, and then she and Rafe had celebrated with their friends for a while before the B&B's shuttle had taken them to a nearby motel to spend the night. "Rafe, we did it. We're actually married!"

"Yes, I believe we are, Mrs. Kovich," Rafe said. He hadn't been able to stop grinning ever since they had been pronounced man and wife. He reached down and took her hand. "Now what do you say we go upstairs to start enjoying our wedding night?"

She grinned. "I would say that I would love nothing more." Hand in hand they stepped back inside and headed straight for the elevator. Once inside Rafe surprised Alison by kissing her fiercely. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned back against the wall of the elevator, enjoying every moment of wedded bliss. When it stopped at their floor she started to exit so she could complete the short distance to their suite, but Rafe stopped her.

"I believe you're forgetting something," he said, sweeping her up into his arms.

She shrieked and giggled as he carried her down the hall to their room, not even putting her down to open the door. He carried her over the threshold and finally placed her on her feet once they were next to the bed. "Oh, Rafe, look," Alison whispered, looking around at the room. Delicate piano music played lightly from the stereo. Pink rose petals were strewn across the bed and the floor, and several white candles were lit in strategic places throughout the room. On the night stand there was a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket of ice. "Oh, Annette must have done this for us. How sweet! I knew this place was the perfect spot to get married," she gushed.

Rafe simply nodded. He couldn't complain about the service they had received or the beautiful ceremony, but something had felt off about this whole situation from the moment that guy in the gym had offered them the room, and he still felt it now. This place was almost too good to be true. But he knew better than to say that to Alison, he had promised her that he would move on from constantly being on the lookout for danger and just enjoy their life together. And that was a promise he was going to try his hardest to keep.

Pushing any negative thoughts away, he looked at his beautiful bride, standing there in her simple, beaded wedding gown with her hair pulled off her neck. "You look so beautiful," he said, reaching out to lightly graze her cheek. "I can't believe you're finally my wife."

She hugged him, resting her head against his chest. "We've overcome so much Rafe. We've been through more than any couple should ever have to go through. And I'll admit, there were times when I thought I might never get to marry you."

He closed his eyes. "It did take us long enough to finally get it right, didn't it?"

"Too long. But now we're together and nothing's ever going to break us apart again. Today we promised in front of God and our closest friends that we would love each other forever. Anything that happened in the past doesn't matter anymore. All that's important now is our future," she said softly.

He gently pulled her back from him so he could look into her eyes. "I love you Mrs. Kovich."

"I love you, Mr. Kovich," she said with a smile. Their lips came together and they entwined their arms passionately. Rafe slowly reached his hand around her and unzipped her white dress, slipping the straps off her shoulders as he kissed them gently before letting the dress fall to the floor. She kissed him again, pushing off his jacket and undoing the buttons on his shirt as she slowly led him towards the bed. He picked her up again and placed her on the bed in the pile of rose petals. He stared at her a moment before climbing on top of her and proceeding to show her just how much he loved her.

> > > > >

Livvie closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself as the tears started to fall harder and faster. _This can't be happening. _"Caleb, no, its not true! Alison can't be having your baby," she yelled shrilly.

Caleb slowly circled around her. "You made the wish Olivia. And now we all have to live with the consequences."

"It wasn't supposed to be this way! Dammit Caleb, why are you doing this to me?" she shrieked.

He shook his head sadly. "You did this to yourself my love."

"But why now? You just married me Caleb, you just listened to me pour my heart out to you and vow to stand by your for all eternity! How could you do this to me now?" she said in disbelief. "I thought you loved me."

"I do love you Olivia. Despite my best judgement I continue to love you even when you make mistakes over and over again. But this isn't about love, this is about your actions and their consequences."

She shook her head frantically. "I knew something was wrong, I could tell you've been acting secretive. But I told myself over and over again that I was just paranoid, but you were planning this all along. Your plan was to marry me and then destroy me! ADMIT IT!" she screamed at him, still sobbing.

Caleb stayed surprisingly calm despite her bellowing accusations at him. "Olivia, no punishment I could ever give you could equal the pain you will feel when you watch my child grow inside of Alison, and then watch her give birth to my blood, my legacy. You set this entire chain of events in motion the moment you slipped this ring off my finger, and now you have no choice but to live with the consequences."

Livvie turned away from him and walked quickly back inside to their suite, the tears still falling rapidly. "Does Alison know?" she asked finally.

"She will soon enough," Caleb said mysteriously, following his wife inside.

She shook her head, attempting to wipe some of the tears away with her hand. "How could you do this to me? How could you marry me and then be so cruel?" She stared at him. "Maybe everyone was right all along. Maybe you are nothing but a monster."

He raised an eyebrow. "Those are some pretty harsh words for your new husband."

Furious, she stood and grabbed a bottle of champagne that had been chilling on the bedside and threw it across the room. It smashed when it hit the wall and made a mess all over the floor. "Damn you. I am not staying here with you one more second." She turned and stormed towards the door, yanking it open and disappearing down the hallway.

Caleb sat down on the bed, his expression unreadable. "Go ahead my love. You won't get far."

> > > > >

"I can't believe my baby girl is married," Elizabeth gushed as she and the other wedding guests exited the B&B shuttle outside a small motel after a short drive.

"I can't really believe it either. But I'm so glad Rafe had the sense to invite us, I would have been ready to kill that cousin of mine if he and Alison had really gone through with that private ceremony baloney," Lucy said, holding Ian's hand.

"Well I'm glad they finally went through with it," Jack added.

Lucy nodded as they all headed for the entrance of the motel. "Yes, that little Bed and Breakfast was actually pretty romantic, and they had great service too." She turned around to tell the driver of the van thanks, and was surprised to see that the vehicle that had left them there less than thirty seconds earlier was nowhere to be seen. She frowned, turning to Ian. "That's strange. I don't even remember hearing them drive away!"

"Now that I think about it, did we even see who was driving?" Ricky pointed out.

Lucy frowned as they stepped inside the office of the motel. "That's very strange." She was starting to have a very bad feeling about this, and she knew from experience that her feelings were usually right. She approached the front desk of the motel and addressed the man sitting behind it. "Hi, we just came from a wedding at this little Bed and Breakfast about fifteen minutes from here. We're going to be needing some rooms."

The man frowned. "I can certainly get you some rooms...but I don't know what you're talking about. There's no Bed and Breakfast anywhere near here. We're the only accommodations for miles."

Lucy felt a chill go up and down her spine. Ian spoke up. "That can't be possible, we just came from there, we watched some friends of ours get married."

The man shook his head. "Well I'm sorry, but I've worked here for ten years, and trust me, we're in the middle of nowhere out here. See, I can show you." He picked up a map and handed it over the counter to Ian. "You can see that its just wilderness. Most of our business comes from campers and hikers."

Everyone crowded around as Ian studied the map. Sure enough it showed the motel and then...nothing. The road they had traveled on to the motel was on the map, but there was nothing along it. "Where did Rafe say he heard about that place again?" Elizabeth said, starting to sound a little worried.

"It was a customer at the gym," Ricky said. "I don't know, this is starting to get more than a little weird."

Lucy drew in a big breath. "I have a very bad feeling about all of this." She shuddered and stared out the windows into the vast, open wilderness that surrounded the motel. "A very bad feeling."

> > > > >

TBC!

Please review! I'm dying to know what everyone thinks of this! This is my first time writing for these characters, so constructive criticism would be much appreciated!


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: First off, I apologize for the extremely long delay. I experienced some writer's block with this fic, but I finally managed a short chapter. Sorry this is so brief, but at least its an update, and I think I overcame the blockage. :) Happy Thanksgiving!

Dedication: To everyone who took the time to review the prologue: Kitty, Melody, Carla, and Kennedy. You guys are the best! Thank you so much for the encouragement. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and continue to review! I promise not to keep you waiting so long for an update next time!

> > > > >

Chapter 1

The next morning, the first rays of sunlight trickled through the curtains of the honeymoon sweet, shining on the newlywed Rafe and Alison, who were asleep in bed with their arms around each other. As she began to stir, a slow smile spread across her lips as she remembered the events of the previous night. Her eyes fluttered open, and she turned her head to see that Rafe was still asleep. Lifting her hand out from under the covers, she admired her new wedding band in the early sunlight. _Mrs. Rafe Kovich_, she thought with a smile. There had been more than a few moments, especially in the past month, where she had doubted that she would ever be able to call herself that. But in the end, everything had worked out for the best. And today started a whole new chapter in their lives.

As she relaxed back onto the pillow and replayed the events of the night before in her head, Alison suddenly got a very strange feeling. She grimaced and sat up straight in bed as the wave of nausea came over her. Scrambling out of bed and into her robe, she ran to the bathroom.

Rafe awoke a second later, moving his arm lazily to drape across Alison and then sitting up with a jolt upon hitting the empty sheets. He opened his eyes and heard the toilet flushing in the bathroom. "Alison?" he called. No answer. He got out of bed, pulling on his own robe and heading over to the bathroom. He knocked on the door, which was slightly ajar, before proceeding inside. He saw Alison sitting on the floor next to the toilet, looking pale and exhausted. "Alison! Are you okay? Are you sick?" he knelt down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder, staring into her eyes with concern.

She shook her head. "That wasn't exactly the way I wanted to start married life," she muttered, getting to her feet with the help of Rafe.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked persistently.

She nodded. "I feel better now. That was so weird, I just got this wave of nausea and then...blehh," she said.

He rubbed her back. "I'm sorry. Is there anything I can get you?"

She shook her head as she rinsed her mouth out at the sink. "No, I really do feel better now."

He nodded, still unable to hide his concern. "Well I just need you in top shape for our honeymoon."

She turned around and smiled widely at him. "Don't you worry Mr. Rafe Kovich. No silly stomach bug could ever cause me to miss out on our honeymoon. Besides, it was probably just something I ate."

"But you didn't eat anything out of the ordinary last night. Unless our wedding cake did that to you," Rafe said dubiously.

She wrinkled her nose. "I don't think it would be that. Don't worry about it, really. I'm fine now." She walked out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom. "In fact, I could really use some coffee right now."

He glanced at the clock. "It's a little early for Annette to bring up breakfast. But I could run down to the lobby and get us some coffee."

She smiled. "That would be perfect." She leaned in and gave him a kiss. "I'm sorry if my little incident there ruined our first morning as a married couple."

"Don't worry about it, angel," he said lovingly. He kissed her forehead. "I'll be right back." She smiled as he gathered the room key and his slippers and left the room.

Once he was gone she frowned, still perplexed by her random bout of nausea. Trying to shake it off, she crossed the room to get her mints from her purse to rid her mouth of the gross feeling that still lingered. She sat down on the bed and turned her purse upside down. The contents came tumbling out, and she sifted through them to find her mints, accidentally knocking her date book onto the floor. She bent down to pick it up, and saw that it was open to the September calendar. She glanced at it as she picked it up and suddenly froze. She flipped back a page, her frown deepening. "That can't be right," she muttered to herself. She double-checked her notations for the past month, taking note of what _wasn't_ there. She set the small book down for a second, deep in thought. If her records were correct, she was over two weeks late.

"Oh my God," she said quietly, realizing that this could be a perfect explanation for her surprise visit to the bathroom this morning. A million thoughts started going through her head. How could this have happened? She and Rafe always used birth control. But she knew that nothing was one hundred percent effective, and there was always a small chance. Suddenly a thought that she had been trying to push back came tumbling to the front of her mind.

The only time she had protected sex in the past few months was with Caleb.

"No Alison, don't go there," she said out loud, jumping up off the bed and beginning to pace around the room. "You know that's impossible. Caleb's a vampire, he can't have children." She took a deep breath, trying to shove the forbidden thought to the back of her mind, where it had mostly been for the past couple of weeks. But it wouldn't budge, and she couldn't help thinking of how much of a coincidence it was that she was late only a month after that night in the barn.

"No, no no no no no," she said, scolding herself. She pushed her hair back and put her head in her hands for a moment. "There's no use panicking before I even take a pregnancy test. I've been really stressed out lately, maybe its just a false alarm." She tried to take a deep breath.

At that moment Rafe reentered the room, balancing two cups of coffee. He beamed at her. "You're so beautiful." He set the coffees down on the table and kissed her.

She managed a smile. Part of her wanted to just confide to Rafe what she _may_ have just discovered, but a bigger part of her was telling her not to say anything yet. She needed to be sure first. And even then, she had a bad feeling that things might not be as simple as she would like.

> > > > >

"Rafe?" Alison called out as she entered their room later that morning. No answer.

"Good, he's still outside," she muttered to herself. Rafe had gone outside for a jog. She quickly locked the door to their room before dumping the contents of her bag from the B&B gift shop onto the bed and picking up the box containing the home pregnancy test. Taking a long, ragged breath, she took the box into the bathroom with her.

When she was done she came out of the bathroom and inadvertently began to pace around the room. This had to be the longest five minutes of her life. Just when she had finally sat down, convinced that something had to be wrong with the timer, she heard the small ding from the bathroom and froze.

"You have to do this, Alison," she said to herself, as she made the slow walk across the room to the bathroom. She closed her eyes as she picked up the test, and opened them as she held it in her hand. "Oh my God," she said to herself. It was positive. She felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes for some unknown reason.

_Why am I so upset? I'm having a baby with Rafe. With my husband. This should be the happiest day of my life. _

But what if it isn't Rafe's?

"What am I going to do?" she wailed. She couldn't tell Rafe yet. Not until she was sure. But she wasn't sure how she could even find out.

Snapping out of it, she glanced at the clock and realized that Rafe would be back any minute. She quickly gathered up everything from the test and stuffed it back into the bag. She decided against throwing it out in their trash can in the room out of fear of Rafe finding it, so she quickly headed for the door, planning to throw it away in the hallway. She quickly wiped at her eyes as she opened the door. She stepped over the threshold without looking up and gasped as she ran into someone. She looked up and found herself staring right at Caleb as he held onto her arms to steady her.

> > > > >

TBC! Please review!


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Here we go, much quicker update this time. Again, I thank everyone who has been reading and reviewing. Your support means so much. I am still adjusting to writing for these characters and trying to tell everything as I honestly can see it happening, and I struggled with this chapter quite a bit. I hope everyone's satisfied with the finished product. Also, sorry about the short length of the chapters, but I would prefer to update more often than spend time writing epic chapters.

Big thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 1: Kennedy, Melody, and Jacqueline Sims. I am so glad you are all enjoying it, and especially relieved to hear that you think I'm staying true to the show! So, enjoy!

> > > > >

Chapter 2

"Hello Alison," Caleb said in his usual cocky tone. "You seem to be in an awful hurry for a newlywed."

She stepped back, shocked that he would be here. "Caleb...what are you doing here? I thought you and Livvie were supposed to be off getting married," she said, fumbling to hide the bag behind her back.

"We are. Isn't this place just the perfect spot for a wedding? We had a wonderful ceremony last night. Very emotional," he added. "And I suppose congratulations are in order for you as well."

Something felt really wrong about this to Alison. "This isn't a coincidence, is it? You and Livvie getting married at the same place as me and Rafe?" She shook her head angrily. "I don't know what you're trying to pull now, Caleb. I thought we agreed to stay out of each other's lives. So why don't you just go back to your wife," she said, trying to push past him. However, he gently reached out an arm to stop her.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Alison. You and I need to have a little chat," he said cryptically.

She glanced around helplessly. "Can't this wait? Rafe will be back any minute, and I really don't want you to ruin our first day of marriage."

"This is important," he says stubbornly, stepping past her into the suite.

Her heart raced as she gave in, closing the door and moving to ditch the bag somewhere Caleb wouldn't see it. She felt herself start to choke up, the stress of the past month and the new developments from this morning catching up to her. "Caleb, what do you want?" she begged. She slowly bent down and tried to push the bag underneath the bed.

He stared at her, the smirk suddenly gone from his face. "Alison, as much as you want me gone from your life, I'm afraid I can't let that happen. Because our future together is just beginning."

She looked at him in disbelief, none of this making any sense. "What the hell are you talking about? We _have _no future together, today is the beginning of _my _future with _Rafe_ and _your_ future with _Livvie_. We both got married last night."

"Alison, that night we spent together in the barn-" Caleb tried to speak but she cut him off.

"No. I have moved past that Caleb, it was a mistake, a horrible mistake that was not our fault, and there's no reason why I should torture myself over it!" she insisted. "Why are you bringing this up again?"

"Because that night, what happened between us, that was the result of Olivia's wish. On my ring. Do you know what she wished for Alison? She wished for me to have the most passionate night of my life." He walked toward her as he spoke. "But that wasn't the entire wish." His eyes flickered from Alison to under the bed, where the edge of the plastic bag was sticking out. She cried out in protest as he quickly reached for it, pulling the bag out of its hiding spot and dumping the contents on the bed. He slowly picked up the positive pregnancy test, a strange expression coming across his face. "Well it seems that you already know."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said quickly, snatching the test away from him and hurrying to the other side of the room to avoid his gaze, her head spinning. "This test has nothing to do with you."

"But you are pregnant?" he prodded.

She still refused to look at him. "It looks like I am."

"So, we had sex less than a month ago, now you're pregnant, and yet it has nothing to do with me?" he said innocently.

She whirled around to face him. "Caleb, you're a vampire. You can't have children, we both know that. I'm having Rafe's baby, I'm having my husband's baby." It felt very strange to hear herself say that.

"Alison, the final part of Olivia's wish was that a child was conceived from the passion of that night," Caleb said flatly.

Alison froze. "No. That's not possible. You still can't...you're dead."

"That ring has power that you cannot even possibly comprehend. Anything that you wish for, no matter how physically impossible, is suddenly able to be. And now you're having my child."

"It's not true," Alison said firmly. "Where are you even getting this from? Did Livvie tell you? Because I wouldn't believe one word out of her lying little mouth."

"Another part of the wish that she made was that I would always know that she was the one responsible. I knew from the moment she spoke those words," Caleb said, his expression unreadable.

It took a moment for the severity of that statement to sink in. "Wait a minute. So you're telling me...you're telling me that you knew, you knew ever since that night, that I was carrying- that I _could_ be carrying your baby?" Alison said incredulously, her voice raising. "You knew, and yet you told me that it was okay, it could be our little secret. You wished me happiness with Rafe, and all the time you _knew_?"

"Yes, I suppose I did," Caleb said, not seeming to care.

She stood there in shock, just staring at him. "And there was a time when I honestly believed that you had good in you. Obviously I couldn't have been more wrong." She hesitated. "Now get out. You make me sick."

To her surprise, he headed for the door. "Suit yourself. But as soon as you come around to the idea that you are carrying our child, you should also start adjusting to the fact that I will be a part of this child's life. Whether you like it or not." He opened the door. "Say hello to Rafe for me." And then he was gone.

Alison stood there in shock, unable to believe what she had just heard. "This is not happening," she said to herself as she sat down on the bed. She realized she was still holding the pregnancy test. She stuffed it back into the bag and shoved it unceremoniously under the bed as her eyes filled with tears. "What am I going to do?" she choked tearfully.

> > > > >

Outside the Bed & Breakfast, Rafe jogged along the long, vacant road, heading away from the beautiful place where he had made Alison his wife the night before. Besides the B&B in the short distance behind him, nothing else surrounded him except for woods and the long, seemingly unending road. He was thinking about how this place literally seemed like it had dropped out of the sky into the middle of the wilderness when the ringing of his cell phone from his pocket made him jump. He had forgotten he had even brought his phone. Stopping in his tracks on the path, he pulled it out and answered it. "Alison?"

"Oh thank God," came the voice of his frantic cousin over the line. "I've been trying to reach you all morning!"

"Lucy? Slow down. I've had my phone on, maybe I just don't have service in the room," he said, confused.

"Where are you now?" she demanded.

"I'm jogging on the path going away from the bed and breakfast-"

"Cousin, cousin, something is very wrong with that place. Last night, after the wedding, we all got in the shuttle and went to the motel, but then the van vanished before our very eyes, and then I started to get one of my feelings, and you know how my feelings are usually right!"

Rafe couldn't help but smile at his eccentric cousin's rambling. "Okay, so you had a feeling. Then what happened?"

"Well I told the man that we came from the bed and breakfast, and he told us that there is no bed and breakfast. He even showed us a map, and that motel is the only thing for miles!"

Rafe frowned. "Well obviously that's a mistake. I'm looking at the place right now." He stared at the quaint, homey looking building.

"I know, but cousin, I just know that something is very wrong with this picture! I think you need to take Alison and get away from there as soon as you can!"

"Where are you?" Rafe asked.

"We're back in Port Charles! I wanted to come back and look for you, but no one would listen to me, and everyone kept insisting that I was just overreacting and to not ruin your wedding night."

"Well, if I were you I would just stay calm. Nothing's wrong, Alison and I are very happy." He paused. "But I do have to admit that I had a funny feeling when we first got there, too." He felt bad admitting it after swearing to Alison and himself that he wouldn't let his obsession with Caleb ruin their wedding, but he felt that he had to bring it up now.

"See! I told you. That place is very bad news, cousin. You and Alison need to pack up and spend your honeymoon somewhere else."

He thought about that. "Maybe that would be a good idea. I'll head back now, talk to her about it. But Lucy, just try to relax. Everything's going to be fine."

"Okay, if you say so. Just be careful, and say hi to Alison for me."

"Okay Lucy. Bye."

"Ta."

Rafe hung up the phone, puzzled by the conversation he had just had. Sometimes Lucy could be a little paranoid, but he had to admit that combining her experience with his own strange feelings, plus the odd circumstances on which they had acquired the room and the fact that he hadn't seen anyone else in the place besides Annette, that relocating for the honeymoon might not be a bad idea. He started the jog back, going a little faster this time. Within a matter of minutes he had reached the walkway. As he slowed down to enter he heard a strangled sound coming from the bushes. He stopped immediately. "Hello?" he called out, heading slowly towards the noise. He stepped off the path to peer around the bushes and was taken aback when he saw a familiar petite brunette crouched in a ball, rocking back and forth. "Livvie?"

She barely looked at him. "I can't leave, he was right, I walked all night down this stupid path and I keep ending up back here. And I can't even go in there," she said, gesturing towards the B&B, extreme frustration in her voice.

He took her arm, helping her to her feet, noticing that she was wearing a fancy black dress, that looked somewhat disheveled. "Whoa, slow down. First off, what are you even doing here?"

"I was supposed to be here to get married," she shot at him. "I should ask you the same question."

"I'm here to get married too, our ceremony was last night," Rafe said, feeling very suspicious. "Do you mean that you and Caleb were supposed to get married here too?"

"Not supposed to, we did. But that bastard only wanted to hurt me, all he ever wanted to do was hurt me," Livvie said. Rafe noticed that her eye makeup was smudged beneath her eyes, and she had obviously been crying. Her hair hung limply around her shoulders, and her feet were also bare, and he spotted a pair of black stilettos on the ground near where he had found her.

"Have you been out here all night?" he asked quietly, her uncharacteristically messy appearance startling him.

"Yes, I have," she yelled at him.

"Where's Caleb?" Rafe demanded, a sense of dread beginning to creep into his mind as he realized that on top of all of the odd things about this place, finding out that Livvie and Caleb had also married here last night could not be good at all.

"I don't know," Livvie said honestly.

"What did he do to you?" Rafe asked.

"He married me, and then he tore my heart into a thousand pieces," Livvie said emotionally. "I feel like such a fool that I ever believed him when he said he loved me." A look of realization seemed to come over her as she stared at Rafe. "Wait a minute. You said you and Alison got married here too?"

"Yes, we did," Rafe said, his suspicion quickly turning to anger.

"I should have known," Livvie said angrily, wrapping her arms around herself. "I should have known that this whole thing was a setup to begin with."

"I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't know what happened with you and Caleb last night, but please tell me, what does this have to do with Alison and I? Did Caleb want us here?" Rafe said, trying to stay calm.

"Well of course he did. If you haven't noticed Rafe, Caleb manipulates everyone. We're all just players in his little show. Especially your wife. And you too, I guess. This whole thing is the perfect way to stick it to you, his sworn enemy."

"Livvie, you're not making any sense," Rafe said in frustration. "What's Caleb plotting now?"

"Why don't you go ask your wife to fill you in," Livvie said cryptically. She picked up her heels and quickly shoved her feet back into them. "I'm going to find a way out of this hell-hole if it's the last thing I do." Before he could say anything else she had started hurrying back down the path.

Rafe stood there for only a minute before he turned and sprinted inside to the elevator. During the too-long ride up to their suite, he turned over the possibilities in his mind again and again of what Caleb could possibly be up to now. All he knew was that Lucy had been right, something was wrong with this place, they were all here for a reason. And as much as he had no idea what that reason was, he knew he didn't like it.

The elevator finally stopped and he hurried off of it, bursting into the suite, unsure of exactly what he would find. He stopped when he saw Alison sitting on the bed crying. "Rafe," she said, quickly trying to brush away the tears as if he hadn't already noticed. "You're back."

He closed the door behind him. "Alison, what happened? What is going on here?" She just stared at him, unsure of what she was supposed to do now.

> > > > >

Caleb walked out the door of the B&B after watching Rafe's mad dash back upstairs. It was a gorgeous, sunny day outside. Staring down the path he saw the small retreating figure in black trying in vain to escape him. He silently disappeared, reappearing again right in front of his bride. She shrieked loudly upon him popping up in front of her. "Stay away from me," she screamed, turning and heading back in the other direction. He swiftly stopped her by grabbing her elbow.

"Olivia, sweetheart, please don't tell me you've been walking all night," Caleb said, feigning sympathy.

She tried to shove him away from her. "Let me go! Why are you keeping me here? And why can't I even go back inside?"

"I knew I couldn't risk letting you near Alison after hearing the news," he said simply. "But I assume you spoke to Rafe just now."

"Yes. He has no idea what's going on. I told him to go ask his wife," she said fiercely.

Caleb nodded with satisfaction. "Alison will finally have to come clean. Its about time, I felt bad about keeping poor Rafe so utterly in the dark."

"I hate you," she said with venom in her words. "Now please, just let me go."

He considered that. "Well, you did say the magic word." She vanished from the path, leaving him alone on the path. He turned to look back up at the B&B, sitting quietly on the hill. "Well I would say that everything has worked out quite perfectly," he said, pleased with himself.

> > > > >

TBC!


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Finally, another chapter. Again, sorry for the delay in updating, I've been finding it hard to get going with this fic. But I feel that now that the plot is really picking up I will be able to continue much easier. Also, I realize that the events of this chapter may not bode well for certain couples, but remember not to lose faith and to realize that this is probably going to be a long fic with a lot of twists and turns before the end. And when it does get to the end, I intend to have things be the way I believe they would have been on the show. So just bear with me.

Dedication: To Melody, Kitty, and Kennedy for loyally reviewing this fic since the beginning...I love hearing what you think, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

> > > > >

Chapter 3

Livvie closed her eyes from the moment that Caleb transported her. When she was sure that she must have reached her destination, she took a slow breath before opening them tentatively. She breathed a big sigh of relief when she realized that she was merely back home in the loft. "Thank God he didn't send me somewhere horrible," she muttered to herself, sinking down onto the leather couch in exhaustion. She looked down at herself, cringing at how horrible she looked. She was still in her black wedding dress, which looked a little worse for wear now, wrinkled and speckled with dirt and dust from being outside all night. She was thankful that she wasn't in the path of a mirror because she didn't even want to see her hair. Willing herself not to think about anything else for the moment, she slowly stripped herself of her dress, absentmindedly balling it up and throwing it in the trash. She walked slowly to the bathroom and started the shower. As the hot water coursed over her body, she thought briefly of Rafe and Alison. Right now she was probably being forced to tell him everything. _Good_, Livvie thought vengefully. _Little bitch deserves all the pain she has coming. _

> > > > >

"Rafe," Alison repeated, out of the need to break the silence.

"You just said that," Rafe said impatiently. He took a few steps towards her. "Alison, I just ran into Livvie outside. Her and Caleb got married last night, but then something must have happened, and all she could talk about was how this is all a part of his plot, I have no idea what she's talking about, but I know we need to get out of here." Without much thought, he walked to the closet and pulled out their suitcases, tossing them onto the bed. He unzipped them and started piling clothes from the closet into them without care. "Lucy called, there's definitely something weird going on with this place, its not on any maps and no one has ever heard of it before. We need to go somewhere else for our honeymoon, its not safe here..." A strangled sob broke through his distracted ramblings, causing him to immediately stop what he was doing and look up in alarm. "Alison?" He was stunned to see that she had begun to sob, and had sunk down to the floor, her head down as she bawled her eyes out. He dropped the clothes and ran to her side, instinctively joining her on the floor and wrapping his arms around her. "It's okay, we're still going to have our honeymoon, we'll just go somewhere else, somewhere far away from Livvie and Caleb-"

"No Rafe, this isn't about us having our honeymoon," she cried, trying to wipe her tears away. "This isn't about that at all."

A confused expression came over Rafe's face. "Well what is it then? You were fine when I left...what happened while I was gone?" A look of dread and anger replaced the confusion. "Was Caleb here? Did he hurt you?"

Alison forced herself to take a long, shaky breath, trying to ease her sobs. When she had composed herself slightly she replied. "No. He d-didn't hurt me. But yes, he was h-here." Before he could reply she placed a delicate, shaking finger over his lips. "Rafe, I need to tell you something. Something that I should have told you a long time ago. But I didn't, because I thought that was the right thing to do at the time, but now I know how wrong I really was," she whispered, trying to hold in her tears. "What have I done?" she said, more to herself than to Rafe.

Rafe placed both hands on her shoulders as he peered into her eyes. "Alison, you're scaring me. Please tell me what's wrong, I want to help you. Just please tell me, what did Caleb want?"

Alison rose to her feet, gently brushing away Rafe's hands. She began to walk slowly around the room, looking down at her clasped hands, not daring to look him in the eye. "Rafe, I told you how the night that you went to hell, I went to Caleb to ask for his help." She took a slow ragged breath, her heart breaking as she spoke.

Rafe nodded. "I know. I'll never forgive myself for leaving you like that. But I thought we were past this."

"I thought so too," Alison said emotionally, blinking back tears. "But I wasn't completely honest with you Rafe. About that night. And that was a huge mistake." Rafe frowned, staring at her expectantly. She forced herself to continue. "After Caleb told me he wouldn't help me, I tried to grab his ring and make the wish myself. But it didn't work, and I realized that it wasn't his real ring. Livvie had stolen it from him." She watched as Rafe's eyes widened slightly at that. "Then we were talking, and he told me that he felt some kind of a shift, and it meant that you were back." She moved her hand to her mouth to suppress a sob. "I was about to go home to you, I was. But then...something happened. I swear to you Rafe, we didn't know what we were doing, I never wanted it to happen in a million years." The tears started to fall again. "Livvie made a wish on the ring, Rafe. She wished for a romantic night for her and Caleb. But she wasn't with him," she managed to say, her lips quivering.

At first Rafe just stared at her in confusion, not understanding. Then something seemed to hit him all at once, and his face turned to disbelief. "No. That's not possible. You aren't telling me that you...and Caleb..." Alison could only manage to nod, confirming his worst fears.

"We did. I had sex with Caleb," she whispered, finally speaking the words.

Rafe seemed to stagger backwards a few steps. The look of utter betrayal and pain on his face nearly killed Alison on the spot.

"Rafe, you have to understand," Alison pleaded, walking towards him again. She reached out to him. "We didn't know what we were doing, it was the ring. Rafe, I'm so sorry-"

He flinched away from her touch, staring at her in numb shock. "You married me. You married me with this...this _secret_. Why didn't you tell me, why are you telling me now?" he said, his voice rising.

Alison started to sob again. "Rafe, please, I never wanted to hurt you, I tried to tell you the next day, when I came home, but then you started t-talking about starting fresh and I couldn't bring myself to hurt you so much."

Rafe put both hands to his head, an expression of agony on his face. "You slept with Caleb. You _slept_ with _Caleb_." A thought suddenly came to his head. "Where?"

"W-What?" Alison stuttered, caught off guard.

"Where did it happen?" Rafe said, fearing that his theory was correct. "You weren't at home, because I was there. And I assume you weren't as his place, because Livvie would have been there. Where did it happen Alison?" he demanded, on the verge of tears now himself.

She was crying freely now. A part of her had hoped that she wouldn't have to tell him this part. "The barn," she sobbed.

"DAMMIT!" Rafe yelled, angrily tipping over the bedside table. It crashed loudly to the floor, causing Alison to jump. "That was our _place_, Alison! That place meant everything to us! And you...and him...that's why you acted that way when I wanted to get married there." She nodded silently. Rafe put a hand to his head, his mind going a thousand miles an hour. "I have to go, I can't be here," he muttered finally, heading purposefully towards the door.

She knew she couldn't let him go. "Rafe, wait! I have to tell you, I have to tell you why I told you now." She had a feeling that the worst was possibly yet to come, but she couldn't deny the immense relief she felt at finally having her blaring secret off her chest. Despite the tears and anguish, she felt a sense of calm in the back of her mind that she hadn't felt in weeks.

"No, not now. I can't do this right now," he said firmly. He stared at her for one more long second, seeing her in a way he had never seen her before. With a final shake of his head he was gone.

She stood there alone in the vast, empty room, the door open to the deserted hallway. He had left before she could tell him about the baby. But what could she even say about the baby? She still had no proof other than Caleb's word, which she did not value very much at all, especially after his revelation that he had known all along that this would happen. She slowly picked up the half-packed suitcase that Rafe had thrown together and put it down on the floor. She sank down to the sit on the bed and stared around the room, unsure of what to do next. _This was supposed to be my honeymoon_, she thought sadly. She considered her options, realizing that she was exhausted, emotionally and physically. "I'll just lie down and wait for Rafe to come back," she decided, lying back on the pillow, not bothering to change out of her cream-colored jogging suit. "He will come back," she whispered, trying to ignore the doubts in her mind. Her last thought before she drifted off to sleep was of the look of betrayal and disappointment Rafe had given her on his way out the door.

She had been sleeping soundly for about an hour when Caleb drifted through the door to the suite, unbeknownst to the sleeping Alison. He paused a moment by her bedside to stare at her tear-streaked face as she slept. Then he swiftly picked her up in his arms, and the two of them vanished from the room.

> > > > >

TBC...


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Here we go! I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I'm very pleased with it. I'm sorry for the short length of these chapters, but it allows me to update more frequently. The action will start to pick up soon, and things will get a little more interesting.

I just want to say that I am so pleased by the response I have gotten to this story so far. The number of you who have thanked me for continuing on the Port Charles saga and said how this is really a way you could have pictured things happening means so much to me. That is just what I wanted this fic to do, and I am very happy that it seems to be doing its job. Please continue to review and let me know what you think! I am curious to know how much of the other citizens of Port Charles you are interested in seeing. Although the focus of this story is going to 100 be on Alison, Rafe, Caleb, and Livvie, I may bring in other characters for a scene from time to time. Okay, that's enough from me. On to the chapter!

> > > > >

Chapter 4

When Alison woke up, she didn't know where she was. When the initial fogginess began to wear off, she remembered what had happened. But when she looked around her and realized she was no longer in the hotel room waiting for Rafe, she sat upright with a start. It only took her a moment to recognize the white decor of Caleb's villa. She knew this place all too well, after spending those miserable days here with Joshua. She sat up on the chaise lounge that she had been sleeping on, looking around in alarm. She realized that Caleb was leaning back in the chair across the room, his eyes intent on her. "You kidnaped me," she said angrily, rising from her sitting position.

"Yeah, and I do apologize for that. But sit down. You're not going anywhere until you and I discuss a few things," Caleb said, calm as ever.

Alison stood there helplessly, glancing around for an escape route of some kind. But she knew better than to try to outrun Caleb, and despite the alarming aspects of the situation, she knew she wasn't in danger. So she sat.

"Very good," Caleb said in approval. "It's important that you come to feel comfortable with me."

"Caleb, cut the small talk. Please tell me, why did you bring me here?" Alison said wearily. Her mind had drifted back to her fight with Rafe, and the pain in his eyes when she had told him she had slept with Caleb.

Caleb slowly got up and walked towards her. She noticed for the first time that he was holding a white rose in his hands. "Our lives are forever connected now, Alison. Through that child you're carrying." He wordlessly held the flower out to her. She met his eyes briefly.

"I like pink roses," she said stubbornly.

"Well I thought that under the circumstances, a reminder of your relationship with Rafe may not be the best." He extended it further towards her. After a long moment's hesitation, she accepted it, and immediately wondered to herself why she had. While she was pondering this Caleb sat down next to her, not so close that they were touching, but close enough that she was very aware of his presence. "I know the last thing you want to do right now is discuss this with me. But in this case, sooner is better than later."

"Caleb, I don't know what you're trying to do, but I don't even know that this is your baby," Alison insisted.

"Well, I do," Caleb said, with a tad of impatience. "This is our destiny, Alison. No matter how bizarre the chain of events that led us to this moment, here we are." He paused. "This is a very special child. And I need to make sure it's safe."

"What do you mean?" she asked, turning her head to look at him. "You think I would..."

"It's not you I'm concerned about. It is my wife and your husband that worry me." Caleb studied her. "I take it you told Rafe."

"I told him about what happened with us, about Livvie's wish. But...he left before I could tell him about the baby," Alison admitted. Caleb nodded slowly. All of a sudden Alison realized what he had been implying. "Wait a second...are you saying that you think Rafe would...hurt me...if this baby was yours? Which it's not."

"You can never be too careful," Caleb said sincerely. "How did he react to the news that we made love?"

She closed her eyes in pain at the memory. "He was devastated."

"And angry, I'm sure. Because the slayer does tend to have somewhat of an anger management problem," Caleb said with a smirk. "Olivia did not take the news well either."

Alison made an angry noise. "I'm sure she didn't. Has anyone ever told you that your little wifey is, how should I put this...insane?"

"Olivia is a very passionate woman. It's one of the things that attracted me to her in the first place. But with Olivia, her greatest strength can also be her greatest weakness." Caleb looked at Alison, his expression very serious. "She's tried to...hurt you before, Alison. I can't risk her harming this child. And I know that you don't want that either."

Alison considered that. "No. Of course I don't want anything to happen to this baby."

"So that's why it's very important that you let me protect you during this pregnancy. I know you probably don't like me very much, especially now that you know I've known this would happen all along. But you have to understand that things needed to play out this way."

"Why? So everyone would be as hurt as possible?" Alison said, upset. "All you wanted to do was cause people pain."

"Olivia needed to learn her lesson," Caleb said, unwavering. "And so did Rafe. I'm sure you haven't forgotten that it was Rafe who started this whole thing in motion by taking that little trip to hell."

"No, I haven't forgotten," she said quietly. "But what you did to Livvie was cruel. You _married_ her and then sprung this on her?" She stood up and walked across the room, the rose still in her hands. She spun around to look at him. "And you're right, maybe we were friends once. But I see now that Rafe was right about you all along."

"I apologize for any pain I've caused you. I really do. I just want you to remember that I am just as much the victim as you here. Rafe and Olivia are responsible for this. This situation cannot be undone."

"I'm well aware of that," Alison said bitterly. One hand drifted down to her stomach as she thought of the unborn child growing inside of her. She heard Caleb walk up to her, and felt him stop close behind her.

"No matter how ill-advised and selfish the wish Olivia made was, she was right about one thing," Caleb said softly. "I have always wanted a child. Someone to pass my legacy onto as my father did to me."

"If this is your child, who says that I would let you be a part of it's life?" Alison said boldly, not turning to look at him.

"Sweet Alison, there is nothing you can do that could keep me from my child," Caleb said, gently but with unwavering firmness.

"Caleb, what do you want from me?" Alison pleaded, whirling around to face him. "What is the point of all of this?"

"If you're asking why I brought you here, it was because I hoped we could reach some form of an understanding, for our child's sake. But I also wanted to invite you to live here with me. So I can offer you and the baby my protection."

Alison was shocked. "You want me to _move in _with you? So you can protect me from Livvie?" She refused to mention Rafe.

"Yes, I suppose you could put it that way," Caleb said, staring at her. "Now, I want you to understand that I would offer you as much privacy as I could allow. I don't expect anything from you, Alison, except rights to my child." His mouth turned upwards in a smirk. "But if you ever did want to make the arrangement a little more favorable to us both...I do distinctly remember that we brought each other great pleasure once before."

"Stop it," Alison said, charging away from him. She circled the room, feeling extremely frustrated. "You know, you have a lot of nerve. And the answer to your..._invitation_ is that no, I will not move in with you. In case you've forgotten, I'm married." She held up her right hand to show off her wedding band. "I have a husband who loves me. And maybe we had a disagreement, but Rafe will come to understand. And he will offer me all of the protection I need, thank you very much."

Caleb's face was stern again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have added that last part. But I do wish you would consider my offer."

"I have. And I told you no." She looked down at the rose in her hands and set it down on the couch where she had been sleeping earlier. "Now, are you planning on keeping me here against my will, or can I go?"

He sighed loudly. "I won't force you to stay with me, no. But by leaving here you are not getting rid of me. And I want you to know that if you change your mind, the offer still stands."

Alison nodded. She glanced around uncertainly. "Can you please take me back to the Bed and Breakfast? Rafe will be wondering where I am." She hated asking for his help, but the fact was that she had no other means of transportation.

"You can't go back there," he said simply. "I can have someone bring you back to your apartment, if you wish."

"What do you mean I can't go back there?" Alison asked angrily.

"I don't know if you noticed, but the Bed and Breakfast wasn't exactly ordinary. The purpose I created it for has been served," he said mysteriously.

Her mouth fell open slightly. "Wait...you mean, it wasn't real?"

"Oh, it was real to those who needed it to be. But if you were to go looking for it again, you wouldn't find it."

"Oh my God. It was you! You set up Rafe and I, you sent us there to get married just so you could play your little game!"

He smiled. "Smart girl. I think our child will be quite extraordinary."

"What about my things?" she said defiantly.

"I will have them sent to your home. Now, if you really wish to leave me, there is a car outside that will take you wherever you want to go." Caleb paused. "Take care of yourself, Alison. You should see a doctor-"

"I'll take care of it," she said shortly. "Goodbye Caleb." She looked at him one last time and then she quickly showed herself out. When she was gone Caleb slowly crossed the room and picked up the rose she had abandoned, inhaling its sweet scent.

"You'll come around, Alison," he said with a sigh. "You'll realize that you need me."

> > > > >

Rafe froze slightly when he found the door to the room at the Bed and Breakfast ajar. "Alison?" he called tentatively as he stepped into the room. It was dark outside now. If someone had asked him how he spent the last few hours, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to tell you. Ever since Alison's confession had caused his world to come crashing down around him, he found it hard to distinguish one event from the next. He glanced around the room, spotting the bedside table lying broken on its side, a reminder of his rage. Looking away from it he quickly checked the closet. Alison's suitcase was gone, and so were all of her things. Only his own clothes remained. "She's gone," he said, rubbing his head with one hand. He sat down on the bed, thinking sadly of how less than 24 hours earlier they had celebrated their marriage in this very bed. They had been so happy, and then everything had gone so wrong.

_Things were wrong before we got married_, he thought grimly. _I was just too blind to see it._He sat there, his mind blank from pain and sadness, unaware of the bag containing the positive pregnancy test only inches from his foot, barely concealed by the long covers of the bed.

> > > > >

TBC!


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: Wow. So sorry the delay everyone...I do have an excuse this time though. I moved about a month ago, so that kept me very busy for a while. But I am still sorry for keeping you waiting for so long...I have been struggling with this chapter for over a week now, but finally seem to have gotten it right. This story has definitely proved to be a challenge for me, and sometimes I find it hard to get going, but all of the wonderful feedback I continue to receive gives me the motivation. So please keep the reviews coming! Also, with this chapter, please be aware that I don't know very much about pregnancy, although I tried to do some research, so hopefully it shows. If there are any technical errors, I apologize. Enjoy the chapter!

> > > > >

Chapter 5

It was dark by the time Alison finally arrived back at her apartment. As she wearily switched on the light, she saw without surprise that Caleb had indeed had her things sent here. All of her suitcases sat on the floor, unopened. She wondered briefly how whoever had delivered them had gained access to her home, but she forced herself to dismiss the thought.

She crossed her arms and gazed around the apartment that she had shared with Rafe for such a short time. They had been doing so well these past few months. Their dream business was not only up and running, but thriving, and they had been so happy. Rafe had even seemed to finally be letting go of his war with Caleb. _But it was too late_, Alison thought bitterly. If only he'd listened to her pleas earlier, he never would have gone to hell and this whole mess could have been avoided.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered to the empty apartment. Alison had never felt so alone in her entire life. "Rafe, where are you?" She hadn't seen him since he had stormed out after her confession, and she prayed that he wasn't out doing something he'd regret. A part of her longed to see him, and have him hold her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be alright. But she didn't know if that was ever going to happen again.

If the baby was Rafe's, she knew he would come around. He would forgive her for her deception and they would move past her one-night stand with Caleb, and have a wonderful life with their child. Her heart warmed at the thought. Yes, they could still have everything they had hoped for. But all of that was hinged on the identity of her baby's father.

_I need to see a doctor_, Alison realized. She was most likely already a month along, and she needed to begin her prenatal care. She knew she also needed to discuss options for paternity testing.

A knock on the door startled Alison from her thoughts. "Rafe?" she wondered out loud, her voice filled with hope. She rushed to the door and threw it open, only for her face to fall when she discovered that it was her mother on the other side.

"Oh, Alison, thank God!" Elizabeth said dramatically, throwing her arms around her daughter. "I've been so worried about you! There was something wrong with that place, and I couldn't reach you..."

"I'm okay, mom," Alison said. Truth was, she was far from it. Her entire life was in pieces.

Elizabeth pulled back, suddenly studying Alison closely. "So wait a second...what are you doing back in Port Charles? Shouldn't you be on your honeymoon?" She beamed. "I still can't believe my baby is married!"

Alison forced a smile. "Yeah, after we started to get a bad feeling about the Bed and Breakfast, we decided to just come home for a while. We're going to wait and go away some other time."

Elizabeth frowned. "Oh, okay...are you okay with that, honey? You deserve a beautiful honeymoon. And where is Rafe, anyway?" She glanced around the apartment, as if expecting him to jump out at any moment.

Alison paused a moment as she wondered how on earth to answer that question when she honestly had no idea herself. "He just went out for a while," she finally said. "We had some errands to run."

Her mother nodded, but she was still frowning. "Alison, what's wrong? You definitely don't have the look of a newlywed."

For a second, Alison was tempted to just blurt out the entire thing. But she held it back, knowing that her mother was probably the worst person to confide in unless she wanted the whole town to know. Well, except Lucy. "No, I'm fine, really. It's just been a really long couple of days," she said.

"Oh, okay. Well, I guess I'll go and let you get some rest then. But I want to have a mother-daughter day soon, go to the spa, maybe some shopping. What do you say?"

"That sounds great mom," Alison said truthfully.

Elizabeth reached out and touched her daughter's cheek. "You looked so beautiful yesterday. I am so proud of you."

Alison felt a lump rising in her throat. _She probably wouldn't be so proud if she knew how badly I've ruined everything. _"Thank you. I'm so glad that you were there."

"Good night. I'll call you tomorrow," Elizabeth said as Alison showed her out.

"Good night," Alison called after her. Once she was gone, she closed the door, cursing silently to herself. She hated this. She should have learned her lesson about deception by now, and she really did hate lying to her mother. But she knew that she couldn't tell anyone about the baby before she told Rafe. It was bad enough that Caleb and Livvie already knew, because she knew how critical it was that Rafe hear the news from her.

She was still leaning against the door when someone knocked, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. Shaking a little from the jolt, her mind instantly prayed that it was Rafe on the other side. "Rafe?" she said hopefully, swinging the door open. She froze when she saw who it really was.

Livvie.

"Sorry Ali, definitely not Rafe. What, you don't know where he is?" the brunette said mockingly. She pretended to gasp. "Don't tell me that your little fairytale romance ended only a day after the wedding."

Alison stared at her, unable to move from her spot. She had known ever since this morning that this moment would be coming, when she would have to face her former best friend about everything that had happened and was happening. But she wasn't ready for it now. As she looked into the brunette's icy cold eyes, she felt a tiny ripple of fear go through her body.

_"She's tried to...hurt you before, Alison. I can't risk her harming this child."_

Alison cleared her throat, trying to figure out how to best handle the situation. "Livvie, what do you want?"

To her dismay, Livvie walked right past her into the apartment, strolling around slowly as if she owned the place. She was clad in one of her typical outfits, black pants with a tight red top, and her arms were crossed tightly across her body. "What do I want? Maybe I just wanted to see how the woman who ruined my life is doing."

"Oh, wow. You have got to be kidding me. I ruined _your_ life?" Alison shut the door, staring at Livvie with anger. "If I remember correctly it was _your_ selfish little wish that got us _all_ into this mess! Look at us now, Livvie. We should both be on our honeymoons, but where are we? At home, alone, with neither of us knowing where our husbands are. And you think this is _my_ fault?" The words began to tumble out faster and faster as she continued, relieved to be able to vent some of her frustrations.

"Don't forget the baby, Alison," Livvie all but yelled at her. "That baby was supposed to be _mine._ Mine and Caleb's. But no, you had to ruin everything."

Alison couldn't help but laugh. As usual, she could not believe how twisted Livvie's mind was. "You _stole_ Caleb's ring, Livvie."

"And everything would have worked out perfectly if you had just stayed away from Caleb to begin with. He never would have been with you that night if you hadn't been so pathetic as to run to him as soon as your precious Rafe disappeared again. Have you ever thought about that, Alison?" Livvie's eyes shined with rage and emotion.

Alison stared at her, unwavering. "Livvie, you can believe what you want, but I _never_ wanted Caleb for myself. In case you never noticed, I'm in love with Rafe. _Rafe_ is my soul mate. But you were too insecure to see that. All you saw was some...some_ threat_ to you getting what you want."

"What about the dressing room?" Livvie said, swiftly changing the subject. "Call me stupid, but I thought we came to some kind of an understanding that day. I thought we both finally realized that we could both have what we want and be happy. You were _nice_ to me, when all along you knew what had happened between you and Caleb! You're just as bad as him."

"Caleb didn't tell you what happened that night to hurt you. He's cruel, Livvie. He waited until when it would be the most painful to spring this on you."

"Then why did you keep quiet for so long? You kept this from Rafe, you married Rafe with that secret. That makes you no better than Caleb."

"But I _am_ better than him." Alison drew in a ragged breath. "I hid the truth because I convinced myself that it was best for everyone if it stayed a secret. Caleb was the one who suggested that it just stay between us. What we did is different because he kept the secret just to cause pain, but I tried to spare everyone pain. I know now how stupid that was and believe me, I am paying the price."

Livvie just stared at her. "Rafe left you, didn't he?"

Alison glanced down at the floor. "He left when I told him about Caleb, yes. But he'll be back. I know he'll come to understand that I never wanted that." She paused. "Livvie, you have to believe that too, I never wanted anything to happen with Caleb-"

"Alison, you're carrying his child! That baby is supposed to be mine. I wished for that child so that Caleb would never leave me, so that we could finally be happy. But no, just like everything my whole life, you had to take that away from me too."

Alison couldn't help but almost feel sorry for Livvie. Sure, a part of her hated her for causing all of them so many problems. But she could see the vulnerability in her eyes, and as much as she hated to admit it, she almost understood why she had stolen the ring and made that wish. Besides, what Caleb had done to her on their wedding night was so cruel that she wouldn't wish it on anyone. She took a deep breath before she continued. "Livvie, I don't even know if this baby is Caleb's or not. I made love with Rafe that same night-"

"Alison, the ring doesn't make mistakes. I wished for a night of unbelievable passion for Caleb that would result in a child. _My_ child."

"You think that I wanted this?" Alison said quietly. "This is hardly how I imagined my first day as Rafe's wife. You're not the only one in pain, Livvie."

"But you have Caleb's baby. I have nothing. _Nothing!_" she yelled. Infuriated, she headed for the door, pulling it open. "This isn't over, Alison." With one final, vindictive look, she stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Alison let out a long sigh of relief once the brunette was gone. Her heart was beating quickly, and she sat down on the bed to calm herself down.

_Imagine if Livvie knew that Caleb just asked me to move in with him. _

She couldn't help but laugh out loud at that. Unconsciously, a hand drifted to her stomach, as her thoughts drifted once again to Caleb's warnings earlier.

The fact was that Livvie had done plenty of twisted things, many of them aimed directly at her former best friend. As hard as it was for her to imagine anyone wanting to harm an unborn baby, she had to admit that when Livvie's fears and emotions took control of her, you couldn't put anything past her. She knew in her gut that Caleb was right in warning her to be careful around her. Just about the only thing she was sure of at the moment was that the safety of her child had to be the number one priority, above all else.

"I'm going to be a mom," Alison whispered to herself, her hand still lightly touching her stomach. She smiled at the thought. No matter how things turned out, the fact was that she was going to have a baby, a little part of herself to love and raise. All day she had been so caught up in the negative aspects of her situation that she had barely even realized that. This thought comforted her as she changed into her favorite nightgown and curled up alone in the bed, which seemed larger than ever without Rafe beside her. Before she drifted off to sleep, she made sure to leave a light on in case he came home.

> > > > >

Alison pulled her coat tightly around herself as she walked up the entranceway to the small doctor's office on the outskirts of Port Charles. As soon as she had awoken that morning, she had looked up local OBGYNs in the phone book, and this place had told her she could come right in for a consultation. She had heard the doctor, Dr. O'Brien, mentioned before in her years spending time at GH, and she knew that she was one of the best in the area.

Rafe hadn't come home last night. Alison was beginning to get very worried. She had left a note at the apartment explaining that she had gone out for a while, but she needed to talk to him. She prayed that he would be there when she returned.

As she was about to open the door to the building, she got an odd feeling on the back of her neck, as if someone was watching her. She turned around slowly, scanning the fairly empty parking lot and surrounding bushes. _You're just being paranoid. No one's there_, she convinced herself as she finally stepped inside.

She spoke to the receptionist and began filling out the paperwork. The small office was very quiet. Besides the lone receptionist, the only other people in the waiting room were a young couple. The woman looked as if she were about six months along. She smiled at Alison kindly, and she graciously smiled back, feeling a pang as she noticed the obvious affection and happiness between the pair. A minute later, the other woman was called in, and she and her husband went with the nurse behind a door that appeared to lead to the examination rooms.

Alison had just handed her paperwork to the receptionist and taken her seat again when the nurse reappeared in the doorway. "Mrs. Kovich?"

She stood up shakily. "Right here," she said, trying to smile. She went with the nurse to a small, cozy office.

"Dr. O'Brien will be in to speak with you in a moment. Because it's your first prenatal visit, we like to begin with a consultation. Then she will talk to you about where we'll go from here," the nurse said with a smile.

"Thank you," Alison said as the nurse left her alone in the room. She had only been waiting for a few minutes when the door opened again and Dr. O'Brien entered. She was fairly young for a doctor, in her mid-thirties, with short brown hair and dark framed glasses.

"Hello, Mrs. Kovich, I'm Dr. O'Brien," she said, shaking Alison's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Alison said, trying to hide her nerves.

"Have a seat," the doctor said. She sat down behind her desk and began scanning Alison's file, while Alison sat down opposite her. "First off, congratulations. You must be very excited. You just found out that you're pregnant?"

"Yes," Alison replied.

"Did your husband come with you today?" she inquired.

Alison felt a pang of sadness. "Um, no, Rafe...he couldn't be here today," she said quietly.

Dr. O'Brien nodded. "Well, in the future, you may want to bring him along. Most expectant fathers enjoy coming to these appointments, just to have their questions answered and to be there for the whole process." Alison nodded slowly. The doctor scanned the file some more. "So, you think you're about a month along?"

"Yes," Alison said.

"Well, today we will get you on some prenatal vitamins. As for the first routine exam, we will probably have you come back in about 3 weeks. Eight weeks tends to be a good time for the first major appointment. At that time we will do an extensive physical check, and do a complete review of your medical history," the doctor explained. "Today's appointment is primarily to get acquainted, and to get your care off in the right direction. Have you experienced any morning sickness?"

"Yes, yesterday for the first time," Alison answered.

The doctor nodded. "That's very common in the first trimester. All that we can really do about that is make sure you choose foods that are least likely to further upset your stomach, and also try and eliminate as much stress as possible."

_Great_, Alison thought. She looked down at her hands. "Doctor O'Brien, there is something that I wanted to talk to you about."

"Sure, anything," she said professionally.

Alison struggled with her words. She felt horrible about what she knew had to say, and felt a blush rising in her cheeks. "I'm...I..." she took a breath. "There is a chance that the baby's father might not be my husband. We were just married very recently, something really unexpected happened about a month ago, when we were having problems, and I just can't be sure-"

She was surprised when the doctor held up a hand to stop her. "You don't need to explain yourself to me Alison. My job as your physician is not to judge you, only to provide the best medical care possible for you and your child." Alison instantly felt a rush of relief, and she managed a grateful little smile. The doctor paused. "I assume that you are going to ask me about options for determining your baby's parentage."

"Yes. I haven't done much research on my own, but all I know is that this is very important to everyone involved. I love my husband, Dr. O'Brien. I need to know if this is his child," Alison said, tears coming to her eyes.

"Does Mr. Kovich know you're pregnant?" she asked gently.

Alison shook her head. "Not yet."

Dr. O'Brien leaned back in her chair. "Well, Alison, there are a number of options for DNA testing. The most recommended is to wait until after the birth of the baby and do a blood test. But I am guessing that you don't want to wait that long, in your situation."

"What are the options for in-utero DNA testing?" Alison asked, trying to blink away her tears.

"Well, the in-utero sample can be obtained in one of two ways, through a CVS, or Chorionic Villi Sampling, or via amniocentesis. Both procedures involve taking a small sample from either the placenta or the amniotic fluid, and testing it against the DNA of the mother and the alleged father," she explained.

Alison nodded slowly. "There must be some risks involved."

"Yes, as with any invasive procedure it carries the risk of infection, and a very small risk of miscarriage. I don't normally recommend these procedures to my patients, but in a case like yours, I can definitely understand how having an answer as soon as possible might benefit your own emotional health throughout the rest of the pregnancy."

Alison was relieved that the doctor was understanding her so well. "Yes, that's my feelings exactly." She paused. "When would I be able to have one of those procedures?"

"The CVS can be performed as early as the 10th week, under the best of circumstances," Dr. O'Brien explained. She hesitated. "I want to make sure you are aware that the alleged father needs to be legally informed in order for this procedure to take place. Your husband will need to consent to giving a DNA sample to be tested against that of your child."

Alison nodded. "I understand."

Dr. O'Brien looked at her with a gentle expression. "Do you have any other questions?"

"So many that I don't know where to begin," Alison admitted. It really seemed real now- she was having a baby.

> > > > >

"So, we'll see you back here in three weeks, Alison. At that point we'll do a complete physical exam and medical history, and we can also discuss the procedures again and choose our best options," Dr. O'Brien said as she showed Alison out to the living room.

Alison shook the doctor's hand. "Thank you so much, Dr. O'Brien." She felt much better than she had only an hour earlier, and she owed it all to the patient, kind doctor.

"You're welcome. Have a good day."

"You too." Alison quickly made an appointment for three weeks later with the receptionist, and then headed out to her car. She smiled to herself as she crossed the parking lot. That had gone better than she ever could have hoped. Even though she knew that all doctors were professionals, she couldn't help but worry that the person would seem judgmental towards her unfavorable situation. But Dr. O'Brien had been nothing but understanding.

As she started her car, she wondered if Rafe had come home yet. _Please Rafe, be there when I get home_, she begged silently.

As she pulled out of the parking lot, the odd feeling of someone watching her returned. After a few quick glances in her mirrors, she shook it off as she turned out of the lot and headed home.

> > > > >

TBC!

Please review!


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait. I want to thank those of you who are sticking with this story. All of your reviews and kind words have meant so much to me. Just bear with me, even though it might be a while between chapters sometimes, never think I'm abandoning this. I finish what I start:) The beginning of this chapter takes place at the same time as Alison is at the doctor's office. Enjoy!

> > > > >

Chapter 6

Caleb was sitting calmly in the villa, reclined on the same lounge that Alison had slept peacefully on only hours earlier. The morning sun was just beginning to seep in the windows, reflecting beautifully off the white decor. The large room was silent as he sat, deep in thought. He found there was a lot to think about these days.

Alison's reaction had been pretty much what he had expected. Despite his wishful thinking, he hadn't actually thought she would immediately accept his offer to stay at the villa under his protection. The young blonde had quite the stubborn streak, plus the fact that she was still bitter about his deception regarding the baby. That also had been foreseen. He had known that as soon as Alison found out about her pregnancy, all hell would break loose. He hadn't underestimated.

He briefly considered if maybe the whole scenario with the Bed and Breakfast and the two weddings had been a little inappropriate. _Nah,_ he decided. Everyone had gotten what they deserved. Olivia's face, horrified and murderous, popped into his mind, and he couldn't help but feel pain at the sight of it. He really did wish it didn't have to be this way. He had been so sure that she was the one, that the two of them would spend eternity together. But he had given her chance after chance, and in the end she had betrayed him. Stealing his ring had been the final straw.

He knew he had not seen the last of Olivia. She would come after Alison, and the child, and he would be there to protect them. He also knew that staying away from her would prove to be more difficult than he would like to admit. The two of them shared a deep bond, and they both ached for each other as few people did. In the past he had tried to leave her and been unsuccessful. He tried to convince himself that this time was different. Besides, she may never forgive him for what had happened with Alison, and how cruel he had been in breaking the news.

Then there was the slayer. Caleb laughed sharply at the thought of him. Poor Rafe, completely unsuspecting and then blindsided, on his wedding day no less. And he didn't even know the half of it yet. Yes, humiliating Rafe was probably his favorite aspect of the entire situation.

Not even Alison was innocent. Sure, he did have the most empathy for her, because she was just as much a victim of Olivia's plot as he was. But she had also created a deeper hole for herself by choosing to keep the truth from Rafe for so long.

Caleb let out a long breath. He had a feeling it was going to be a long nine months.

Suddenly, a thud on the patio jolted him from his thoughts. He sat up a little straighter, but did not move to get up. He wasn't surprised when he saw the man of the hour stumble through his doors. He was actually a little amazed it had taken him this long to come here. Alison's confession must have really done a number on the poor guy.

"You son of a bitch," Rafe said angrily as he charged purposefully towards his nemesis. He sloppily threw a punch, which Caleb easily blocked.

"Good to see you too, Rafe," Caleb said, slowly getting to his feet while maintaining a grip on Rafe's wrist. "I've heard that congratulations are in order."

Rafe just stared at him. "You know, Caleb, I've always known you were a sick, twisted bastard, but I have to admit, I never thought even you could sink this low." He yanked his wrist from his longtime rival's grip.

Caleb looked at him with confidence, slightly smirking. "Hey, Rafe, the whole thing with me and Alison, as much as I would like to take credit for it, was not my idea. You can save the praise for Olivia."

"Oh, but it worked out just perfectly for you, didn't it," Rafe said angrily. "I think I should be congratulating you." He made a big show of clapping his hands loudly. "You finally got me. You won this little war that we both said was over. Because I don't think I could ever top what you did."

Caleb raised an eyebrow. "You're that offended by the fact that I slept with Alison?"

Rafe flinched upon hearing the words come out of his mouth. Not knowing what to say, he just stared menacingly instead.

"You know, Rafe, I have to admit I'm impressed. I mean, all this time, I thought I was the lucky one to have Olivia. But Alison..." he let out a low whistle. "There's definitely more than meets the eye with that girl. You're a luckier man than I thought." Rafe immediately lunged at him, trying to grab him around the throat, but Caleb fought him off.

"You say one more word about Alison, and I'll-"

"You'll what, Rafe? You said it yourself, I won!" Caleb said smugly.

Rafe clenched and unclenched his fists, so furious he could barely breathe. "Why did you do this? Why did you leave Livvie? Why couldn't we just both be _happy_?" he yelled. "We could have just both went on with our lives, with our marriages to the women we love-"

"So you're telling me you would rather have never found out about Alison and I?" Caleb interrupted. "You would have rather lived your entire life, little blonde kids, white picket fence, never knowing about what happened that night? If you ask me, that would be even more insulting to your lack of intelligence than what you're doing now. And hey, Alison could have run right home to you that very night and spilled the beans. No one was stopping her."

Rafe honestly did not know what to say to that. "I don't even know why I bothered to come here," he finally spat. He turned around and started to storm out of the villa, but changed his mind and turned around. He slowly pointed a finger at Caleb. "You stay away from her. If you so much as _touch_ her again, I'll-"

"Pretty defensive for a man who hasn't even seen his new bride in 24 hours," Caleb observed. "So, does this mean all is forgiven with you and Alison?"

Rafe glared at him. "That's none of your business. But I mean it. You've had your fun. You got exactly what you wanted. Now just _stay away _from her." He shot him one last threatening look before leaving the same way he had come in.

Once he was gone Caleb threw back his head and laughed heartily. "Oh, Rafe. You're making such a fool out of yourself," he said with a chuckle. "And the worst is still yet to come."

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a brisk knock. He turned to see one of his henchmen, a burly yet surprisingly dependable vampire called Zack standing at the entrance to the room. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I thought you might like an update on Miss Barrington," he said matter-of-factly.

Caleb perked up with interest. "Continue."

Zack took a breath before continuing. "This morning she traveled to a little doctor's office just outside town. The doctor's name is Doctor O'Brien, an OBGYN. She was there for a while and then she just left, apparently headed home."

Caleb nodded. "Good. Now I want you to be extra cautious in watching the apartment. We already had one visit from my lovely bride, and I think it would be fair to expect Mr. Kovich returning home any time now."

Zack nodded. "Will do, sir." He bowed his head slightly and hurried from the room.

Caleb lied back on the lounge, pondering this new information. So, she had chosen a doctor slightly out of the way. No real surprise there, considering she had yet to tell anyone about the pregnancy. He made a mental note to himself to have this Dr. O'Brien checked out, to make sure that she was qualified to care for his child. This baby could have only the best. And until Alison came around to accepting his offer of protection, he had no choice but to keep tabs on her. After all, Port Charles had come to be a fairly dangerous town, and one could never quite know what to expect.

> > > > >

After her doctor's appointment, Alison returned home to the apartment, turning her key in the lock as she glanced behind her. She had been experiencing the strange feeling of someone watching her all morning. She kept trying to convince herself that the pregnancy hormones and her recent stress were just making her extra paranoid, but she was still more eager than ever to get inside where she knew she was safe. She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding as she slipped inside, clicking both locks into place for added security. She took another deep breath as she turned around, but then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that she was not alone.

"Rafe," she said, relief and surprise evident in her voice. He was sitting there on the couch, in the same clothes he had been wearing the previous morning when she had finally told him the truth, or at least part of it. He appeared pensive and uneasy as he stared up at her. A part of her wanted more than anything to just close the small distance between them and wrap her arms around him, losing herself in him. But something in his eyes told her that wouldn't be right under the circumstances. Instead, she slowly set her purse down on the table and slipped off her coat. "Rafe...I'm so glad you're here. I've been so worried..." He still didn't respond, instead continuing to stare at her intently. Before long the gaze began to make her feel uncomfortable; he had never looked at her in this way before, so thoughtfully and searchingly, as if he was looking for some sort of answer or simple explanation for everything spelled out right there in her eyes. Even though she had all of her clothes on, Alison had never felt more naked in her entire life. "Rafe, please say something," she finally said, quietly and pleadingly.

He finally took his eyes off of her, instead looking down at his hands. "For the first time, I have no idea what to say to you."

She bit her lower lip, trying to keep it together. "Well, you're here. That has to mean something, right?" she said softly, hopefully.

He shook his head. "I don't know what it means. I don't know what anything means anymore."

She tentatively took a small step towards him. "Rafe...it's okay if you don't know what to say. If you want, you can just listen."

"Listen to what, exactly?" he said bluntly. "Because if it's more about you and...and _him_, then I don't want to hear it, I _can't_ hear it." He rose from the couch and paced over to the far side of the room raising his hands to his head.

"Rafe, I'm sorry," Alison said simply, trying to control her emotions. "I'm so sorry for hurting you. I would do anything to undo this..." She thought back to the day she had begged Caleb to use the ring to do exactly that. The answer had seemed so simple then. Just make it all go away. But now it was much too late, and she had no choice but to deal with the consequences. "I love you," she said firmly. "That never changed, Rafe. I still love you, so much." Not holding back anymore, she crossed the room until she was by his side, and reached out to touch his shoulder. One defiant tear escaped her eye as she stood there with him, silently pleading for him to forgive her.

He closed his eyes when her hand touched his shoulder, but didn't make any motion to pull away. Part of him wanted to, as he remembered the way Caleb had laughed at him, the look in Alison's eyes when she had admitted everything to him. He had a painful flash of the two of them in the barn, defiling what had once been his and Alison's special place. Then he looked down at her as she stood there touching him, her eyes moist and pleading. He chose his words carefully. "I don't know if I can ever move on from this," he said honestly.

She nodded, accepting that. She drew in a slightly ragged breath and wiped her eyes before she responded. "Well, first you need to listen to what I have to tell you. Then you can decide."

> > > > >

TBC!


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: Here you go! I know, I know, it's about time. Anyways, thanks again to all the readers of this story. Please keep your wonderful feedback coming!

> > > > >

Chapter 7

Rafe's forehead scrunched slightly as he looked down at her, unsure if he was supposed to respond or not. He was painfully aware of the gentle pressure of her hand on his shoulder, and he couldn't bring himself to pull away no matter how much pain she had caused him, no matter how devastated he was. He stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

"There's really no easy way to say this," she said, her eyes still watery but seemingly under control. "So I'm just going to say it. After all, what do I have to lose anymore?" She immediately regretted saying that last part, but struggled onward just the same. She made herself look into his eyes, not moving her hand from his shoulder as she summoned every bit of strength she had left. "I'm pregnant." Her voice failed her, and the words came out in the softest whisper, barely audible.

Rafe's expression remained unchanging. "What?"

She wondered if he really hadn't heard her or if he was just in shock. "I'm pregnant, Rafe," she said, stronger this time.

It took a moment for this to register with him. She could tell when it did, because a thousand different emotions seemed to overtake him at once: shock, confusion, disbelief, and maybe even joy. She knew that she had to continue, had to let the final anvil drop, but in the end she didn't have to. She could tell from the sudden horrified expression that came over his face and the way he suddenly staggered back, out of her grasp, that the thought had occurred to him all on his own.

"No. Don't even tell me," Rafe said, his words not angry, but quiet and filled with pain. His mouth opened and closed and he seemed to be struggling with something. "It's not mine, is it?"

"I don't know," Alison said truthfully.

"Come ON Alison, stop messing with me! Just tell me!" he cried, the anger becoming apparent now.

She recoiled slightly. "Rafe, I swear to you, I don't know! I only even found out that I was pregnant yesterday."

He grew still, accepting this. "But it is a possibility." He didn't have to specify what he was talking about.

"Yes," she admitted, feeling lower than she had ever felt in her life.

His eyes flickered down to her stomach. For over a minute, no words passed between them as they took the time to absorb everything that had just happened. Finally, Alison made herself speak, not able to withstand the painfully heavy silence any longer. "Remember yesterday morning when I got sick?" she began. He nodded slowly, not looking at her. "Well, I was thinking about what might have caused it and I realized that I was over two weeks late. So...I bought a pregnancy test at the gift shop, and it was positive."

He crossed his arms, turning to look at her. "Caleb can't have children," he said simply, as if this fact explained everything.

She pressed a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes. "I know. That's...that's what I thought at first too. But then...Caleb came to see me. He said that part of the wish Livvie made that night was for a baby."

Rafe groaned out loud. "Oh, this just gets better and better." He turned and walked to the wall, leaning against it.

"Rafe...this whole thing was part of Caleb's game. The Bed and Breakfast wasn't even real." She paused as he turned to give her an incredulous look. "He said that he created it for a purpose, and that if you went looking for it again you wouldn't find it."

"That's why Lucy and the others got so freaked out," Rafe said, that part of the puzzle finally making sense. He shook his head. "Damn him...how do you even know he's telling the truth? This could be part of his sick game."

"I know it could be," Alison continued. "But then I also know that there is a chance that he's telling the truth. The timing fits, Rafe, I've tried so hard to make it not fit but it does, and we were always careful-"

"Enough," he said quietly. "I can't listen to this anymore."

She took a step forward, afraid he was going to run out on her again. She was on a roll, and she needed to put everything out there before she lost her courage. "I went to the doctor today. I told her about...the situation and we discussed options for DNA testing."

He squinted at her. And then, to Alison's horror, he started to laugh, a low, grim kind of laugh. "You really think that's the answer, don't you?" he said, once he had calmed down. "You think a little DNA test is just going to fix everything?"

"I never said that," she said, a little frightened by his reaction. "But I know that it's best for everyone involved if we can know as soon as possible-"

"It's not that simple, Alison," Rafe said, his arms crossed. "You think that even if...if this baby is mine, then everything just goes back to normal?"

The words hit her with a heavy impact. "I don't know," she finally managed. "Rafe, I know how badly I've messed up, and I know how much I've hurt you. If I could go back, if I could take it all away I could, but I can't, so now I'm just trying to be strong and handle things the best way I can. It's not just us I have to worry about, Rafe. There's a baby involved. An innocent child."

He crossed the room quickly, looking everywhere but at his wife. "What do you want from me, Alison?" he finally said.

"I don't want anything from you," she whispered. "I just wanted to tell you everything. What happens next is your choice."

He took that in. "You want me to okay the DNA test."

She thought carefully before responding. "Well, the doctor did say that you needed to consent to it if we were to go ahead with it-"

"And why did you think I would agree to that?" he asked curiously, turning to look at her.

"Rafe, don't you want to know?" Alison said rationally.

He just looked at her, his eyes wide. "I think I _know_ enough to last me a lifetime. Or three."

She couldn't believe he was doing this. "Rafe, please. This can't really be over until we know for sure-"

"See, that's the part you're not getting. A little piece of paper saying that I am the father isn't going to make all of this disappear. You lied to me, Alison, the last month of my life has been nothing but deception. We shouldn't _need_ a DNA test!" he said, his voice growing louder with frustration. "This is crazy!"

"I know, I know," she said quickly. "Do you think I'm enjoying this? Huh?" He didn't answer. "This is hell for me too, Rafe. And I know that no matter how the test turned out, things wouldn't go back to normal. I know that things will probably never go back to the way they were for us ever again." She felt herself choking up again, but the tears didn't come. She probably didn't have anymore left.

"I can't do this," he said finally, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" she called after him. "Rafe, you can't just walk away. We need to talk about this!"

He stopped at the door, turning around for a second. "You want to talk? Okay. How about I always thought the day you told me that you were pregnant would be the happiest day of my life." She closed her eyes, barely keeping it together. "I never imagined it would be like this."

She took a few steps closer to him. "I hate myself for doing this to you. Rafe, I love you more than I've ever loved anyone in my life. I'm so sorry. If there was anything I could do to make this up to you-"

He held up a hand to stop her. "I'm sorry. I just can't listen to this anymore. I have to go."

"When am I going to see you again?" she asked fearfully. He didn't respond or even look back, just headed out the door.

When it slammed behind him Alison just stood there in shock. She gazed around the painfully empty apartment and realized that for the first time, she had no idea where to go from here. Her whole life she had always had some idea what the next day would bring. But now she honestly had no idea. She wouldn't even be surprised if the world simply stopped turning, because it certainly felt like her entire existence had come to a screeching halt.

She was a newlywed. This was supposed to be the beginning of many happy years with Rafe. Right downstairs they had a business, this was their home. She briefly wondered what would happen to the gym, the thing that they had poured so much energy into. She would never be able to run it by herself. It belonged to the both of them.

She sank down onto the couch, absentmindedly running a hand over her stomach. She had nowhere to go. She knew she couldn't bring herself to explain her situation to her mother, or anyone else for that matter. For a second she thought about how everything was bound to hit the fan eventually, soon everyone would find out one way or another what had happened. Eyebrows were bound to raise the second people saw she and Rafe apart. She didn't even want to think about what people would think of her then. Lucy would probably be disgusted with her for what she did to Rafe. Her mother would never understand. Alison had never felt more alone in her life. Somewhere in the back of her mind a little voice reminded her that there was one person who knew exactly what she was going through, one person that she _could_ go to, but she immediately dismissed the thought. She was not _that_ desperate.

"Looks like it's gonna be just you and me for a while, baby," she said, trying to keep some optimism in her voice as she gently touched her stomach. "Just you and me."

> > > > >

TBC!


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: As always, sorry for the delay. Thanks to everyone who is continuing to read. I would really appreciate it if you all took a minute to review! It really means a lot, and encourages me to update this more often. :)

Chapter 8

After sitting idly for a few minutes, Alison found herself cleaning. And by cleaning, she meant attacking the apartment as if it had never seen a good scrubbing before. When she was scrubbing the bathroom counter with all her might, she almost forgot about Rafe, about Caleb, about everything. At the moment, her options for distraction were pretty limited. She didn't want to go outside in fear of running into someone and having to field questions. She couldn't go see a friend because none of them knew of her current situation and she was not at all eager to tell them. The thought had crossed her mind that sooner or later, everyone was going to find out: about her pregnancy, about Caleb. For all she knew, Rafe was off telling someone right now. He had certainly been hurt enough and angry enough to slander her name all over town. So since her safest option seemed to be staying within the confines of the apartment, she cleaned.

An hour later, when everything had been scrubbed twice and she could see herself in every smooth surface, she got the idea to make muffins. It had always had been one of her favorite things to do, and she didn't need to worry about calories now that she was eating for two. Then she realized with disappointment that she didn't have any of the necessary baking equipment in the apartment. She sighed in frustration. Now she had her heart set on a muffin...or three, and no means to make them. Her eyes lingered on the door. She supposed it couldn't hurt to run down to the store and get some muffin tins and ingredients...it would be a quick trip, and hopefully she could avoid familiar faces. She had almost convinced herself to go when there was a knock on the door.

She straightened, a hopeful feeling washing over her. "Rafe?" she said to herself as she slowly crossed the room to the door. Was it possible he had thought things over and decided that he didn't blame her, or that he would give her a second chance? She swung the door open, her heart in her throat, only for it to plummet back down to her stomach when she saw that it was Lucy, holding a gaily wrapped stack of wedding gifts.

"Alison!" she practically shrieked. "Oh thank God. I ran into Elizabeth and she said you were back." She barged right into the apartment, setting the teetering stack of gifts down on the coffee table. "I was so worried! That whole Bed and Breakfast place gave me a really bad vibe, I was really afraid that something had...happened." Her delighted expression turned to a frown as she noticed Alison's tight expression. "Alison? Is everything okay?"

_No! It's not okay_, she wanted to scream. She wanted so badly to just confide in Lucy, to let everything come spilling out...but she was afraid. Lucy was Rafe's cousin, she would certainly side with him, and the last thing Alison needed right now was one more member of the Kovich family hating her. So she swallowed her words and instead managed a lie. "No. No, everything's fine."

Lucy wrinkled her forehead as she peered at Alison intently. "Well whatever it is, it's nothing that a few presents can't fix..." she turned to fuss with the stack of gifts. "You and Rafe took me by surprise with the whole eloping thing, so I didn't really have time to do shopping, but I made up for it as soon as I got back, and don't worry, everything was on sale, and besides it's not very often my favorite cousin gets married, so I had to-" She spun around when she heard Alison's strangled sob, shocked to see the younger blonde standing there with her hand clasped over her mouth, her eyes welling up with tears. "Oh my. Alison, what is it? Please, you're really starting to scare me," Lucy said worriedly.

Alison couldn't believe that she had any tears left in her, but apparently she did. Her knees suddenly felt weak, so she made her way to the couch, sinking down slowly as she drew in long, jagged breaths, trying to calm herself.

"Alison, please talk to me," Lucy pleaded, standing in front of her, her eyes wide. She reached out to touch her younger friend's cheek. "Come on, you know you can tell me anything. Is it Rafe? Did you guys have a fight or something? Because you know, that's very common, a lot of married couples fight all the time..."

"It's not Rafe," Alison managed to choke out, her breathing slowly returning to normal as she suppressed the crying attack. "It's me. Lucy...I did something really, really awful. And now everything is just falling apart and there's nothing I can do to stop it," she confessed.

Lucy stared at her, still not understanding. "Well, I'm sure whatever it is really isn't as awful as you're saying-"

"No, trust me, it is." Knowing that there was no turning back now, Alison went on. "Lucy, I'm going to tell you some things, and all I ask is that you just listen, and if when I'm done you want to walk out that door and never see me again I swear I won't hold it against you."

The tall brunette stared at her, puzzled. "Okay," she finally said. "I'm all ears."

So Alison began. She started with the night Rafe had gone to hell, the night that even though she knew was only several weeks ago felt like a different lifetime. She said everything with as little emotion as she could manage. At some point Lucy had sank down onto the couch next to her. She told her about the Bed and Breakfast, about taking the pregnancy test, and about Caleb's visit. Alison told her everything, only leaving out the part about her conversation with Caleb at the villa and his invitation for her to move in with him. For a reason she didn't quite understand, that was something she wanted to keep just to herself for now. She concluded with her visit to the OB-GYN and finally her confession to Rafe only a couple hours earlier. When Alison was finally done speaking, she realized that for perhaps the first time in the woman's life, Lucy Coe was perfectly silent.

"Lucy, I know how much you care about Rafe. And believe me, I know more than anything how badly I've hurt him. And I understand if you hate me for it. I just needed to get that out," Alison said quietly. "But the one thing I want you to know is that I _never_ wanted to hurt Rafe. I love him so much and it kills me that I did this to him."

Lucy studied her for a minute before responding. "I believe you," she said at last, her own voice shaky now. Shaky, yet still confident.

Alison bit her lip, almost afraid to believe what she was hearing. "Really?"

"Yes," Lucy said, her brow furrowed slightly as she looked at Alison as if seeing her for the first time. "I mean...there's no denying that you made some wrong choices. I mean, why didn't you tell Rafe? Or why didn't you come to me? You didn't have to let things get this far," Lucy said sadly.

"I was afraid," Alison admitted.

Lucy nodded, obviously somewhat disapproving of that. "But the bottom line is...it wasn't your choice, what happened with that- with Caleb. You were under the influence of very powerful magic."

"I know," Alison agreed. "I understand that now. But then...I just felt so _responsible_, even though I guess I knew deep down that I wasn't." They sat in silence for a moment.

"Do you know where Rafe is now?" Lucy asked, surprisingly calm. Alison shook her head sadly.

"So, you really want to do this DNA test," Lucy said, her words coming out as more of a statement than a question.

Alison nodded. "I need to know, Lucy. I can't live like this much longer, not knowing. I'd rather know, and then I can take things from there."

"That's understandable," Lucy managed. Alison could tell there was something the other woman was itching to say.

"Look, Lucy, thank you for listening, and for not judging me. It really means a lot. But I do understand if you need to go," Alison said quietly.

Lucy just stared at her. "I'm sorry, this is just...a lot to absorb at once, you know?"

"Tell me about it," she replied. She paused. "Lucy, besides you, the only people who know about this are Rafe, Caleb, and Livvie. I know that eventually everything will come out in the open, but I'm just not ready to deal with that right now. So I need to ask that you please just keep this between us for now."

Lucy nodded. "Of course." They regarded each other solemnly for a moment. "Well, I think I should go look for Rafe. I'm really worried about him, and I don't want him to do anything he'd regret," Lucy said, concern evident in her voice as she slowly rose to her feet.

"Yes, you should. I think he needs his cousin right now," Alison said, the incredible guilt at knowing Rafe was alone somewhere right now, devastated and alone because of her threatening to swallow her whole.

Lucy took a few steps closer to the door, and Alison rose to follow her. "You know, I don't by any means approve of what you did. You definitely made some bad choices. But I do understand that you never wanted any of this. And remember that the most important thing is that there's a little innocent munchkin involved," Lucy said with a small smile.

"I know. I keep telling myself that. Right now my main priority is taking care of this baby," Alison swore.

The brunette slayer nodded. "Call me if you need anything. Take care of yourself. And be careful...Caleb thinks that you're..." She couldn't get the words out. "Just be careful."

Alison nodded. "I will. Thank you Lucy. For everything."

Lucy gazed at her one last time before letting herself out of the apartment. Once she was alone, Alison moved back to the couch, her eyes falling on the teetering stack of wedding presents Lucy had left behind. "Oh, Rafe," she whispered.

TBC!

PLEASE review! It will make me write faster!


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

As soon as Livvie rang Jack's doorbell, she wondered what she was doing there in the first place. Jack would never understand or sympathize with what she was going through. If anything, he would probably give her the 'I told you so' speech regarding Caleb, not that she could say he would be wrong. She wrapped her jacket tighter around herself and changed her mind, turning and starting to step off the porch just as the door opened.

"Livvie?" Jack asked, obviously surprised to see her.

She closed her eyes for a second before turning around to look at him. "Forget it, Jack. I was just leaving."

"No, wait. What are you doing here?" Jack looks her up and down curiously. "Shouldn't you be on your honeymoon, hanging upside down in a cave or something else romantic?"

"Very funny, Jack," she snaps back, flashing him a dirty look. She pauses at the bottom of the steps, trying to remember why she had even come in the first place. Truth be told, she was feeling really lonely, and Jack had been the first person to come to mind. Why, she didn't know, but here she was, and she may as well make the best of it. "Look, I don't even know why I came here. I guess I just needed someone to talk to."

Jack's lips quivered as he tried not to laugh. "And you came here? Livvie, do you never learn? I'm done with you. I'm sick of playing your games. I washed my hands of you once and for all. You're married to Caleb now, and you two can be miserable together for all I care. Just leave me out of it." He turned and started to walk back inside, pulling the door closed behind him, but Livvie darted back onto the porch and held it back.

"No, Jack, please. I'm sorry. I know it's absolutely insane of me to think that you would even give me the time of day, but you're the only person I have left," Livvie blurted.

That got his attention. Jack paused, glancing at her with new eyes. "Wait a second...so you're telling me you and Caleb broke up already?"

"Caleb deceived me. He's been deceiving me for weeks now, and he chose to let me know just after he married me." She stormed inside without being asked, removing her coat and setting it down on the couch. Jack just stood still for a moment trying to process this latest information before closing the door and joining her in the living room.

"Well at least now you know how it feels to be played," Jack said, his voice lacking any remorse.

Livvie ran a hand through her hair with frustration. "Do you want to know what happened Jack? Do you really want to know?" He didn't answer. "I screwed up again, that's what happened. Remember when I stole Caleb's ring and made that stupid wish for you to be nice to me again?" Jack nodded. "Well, that wasn't the only wish I made. I also made a wish for Caleb to have the most passionate night of his life. And he did. With Alison."

Jack's mouth dropped open. A few seconds pass before he can form words. "Wait a second..._Alison_? No, you've got to be kidding. Alison just married Rafe, I was there, they're happier than ever."

"Yes, well that was before she told him about her and Caleb," Livvie explains. "He found out the day after they got married. Oh, and by the way, the same Bed and Breakfast where you went to their wedding was the same place where Caleb and I got married. We're all just pawns in his twisted little game."

Jack blinks, something about this suddenly making sense. "Wait a second...something was strange about that place. After the wedding, all of us went to this little motel down the street. But then the car that brought us there kind of...vanished, and the guy that worked there said there's nothing else for miles. It really freaked Lucy out."

"Well, of course. The place didn't even really exist. After Caleb told me about him and Alison I tried to leave but I couldn't. I was like, trapped there. And I haven't even gotten to the best part. Ali's pregnant, and Caleb is insisting the child is his."

"What?" Jack said incredulously.

"Yes, she is. Because guess what, wishing for one night of passion and romance wasn't enough for me. I had to wish for a baby, too. And now that little blonde bitch has everything that was supposed to be mine, and I have nothing," Livvie said angrily, her eyes watering from the frustration of the past few days. She slumped down onto the couch.

Jack was still having difficulty digesting all of this. "Alison's really pregnant? And the baby's definitely Caleb's?"

"Of _course_ it's Caleb's. I made that wish on the ring, Jack, and the ring never makes mistakes. Alison still doesn't believe it, she's managing to hold out hope that Rafe is the father," she said bitterly.

Jack sank down onto the couch next to her. "And Rafe knows about all this?"

"Yes. He left Alison as soon as he heard the news."

"Oh man," Jack said with a sigh. He shook his head. "You know, I was so happy that they finally went through with it and got married. And look what happens now."

"Well, I hate to break it to you Jack, but Alison brought all of this upon herself. If she wasn't going after Caleb in the first place, she never would have even been with him that night when I made the wish. And she could have told Rafe right away, but no, she kept everything a secret. The little blonde tramp isn't half as innocent as you like to believe."

Jack turned to stare at her. "You know, why are you even telling me all of this? Alison's my friend, and sure it sounds like she made some bad choices, but I know that she never wanted any of this. Are you really expecting me to side with you over her? Because if that's what you want, you came to the wrong place." He rose quickly, walking to the door and holding it open. "I understand that you're pissed right now, but if you're just going to come here and trash people that I care about, you can take your pity party somewhere else. As usual, you caused this mess for yourself, and now everyone else is paying the price."

She listened to him lash out at her with hardly a wince. But somehow hearing all of these accusations coming from Jack finally put her over the edge, and she started to cry, huge racking sobs that shook her whole body.

Jack stood there holding the door, at first not moving when her body started to convulse from the tears. But even though his mind was screaming at him that she didn't deserve any of his sympathy, a part of him that he had yet to succeed at putting to rest brought him to her side. Against all of his better judgement, he put a tentative arm around her shoulders, and she leaned against him while she sobbed.

"God Jack, why? Why did this happen? I loved Caleb, all I wanted was to spend eternity with him. I only made that stupid wish to make sure he would stay with me forever. And now look what I've done," she wailed.

As he sat there holding her, he realized that this was just like a few weeks ago, when Livvie had shown up on his doorstep and asked him why she destroys everything she touches. She had ended up kissing him, and even though all of his instincts were screaming at him to stop, he couldn't resist her. This was a cycle with them, and he was trapped in it. And the only way to end this circle that always left him miserable was to end things now, once and for all.

He abruptly removed his arm from her shoulders and stood up. "Livvie, I can't do this anymore. You need to leave. Now."

Her eyes flashed with anger as she wiped away the tears that were staining her face. "And where exactly am I supposed to go?" she demanded. "I don't have anyone, Jack."

"Yeah, and why do you think that is? You said it yourself, you got yourself into this mess. And it's not my problem." He marched to the door again, holding it open. "Goodbye, Livvie."

She grabbed her coat and headed toward him. "I knew I shouldn't have come here." With one final, angry stare she headed out the door and he closed it behind her.

Once he was alone he groaned to himself. He had done the right thing, he was sure of it. The last thing he needed in his life was to get wrapped up in more of Livvie's problems, especially when people he considered friends were so involved.

So then why did part of him feel guilty for throwing her out?

* * *

After nearly an hour of searching, Lucy finally found Rafe in the park. He was sitting on a bench staring off into space, his face expressionless. Her heart broke for him as she watched him sitting there, looking so alone and so broken. After a moment she got up the courage to approach him. "Cousin?" she called out tentatively, stepping into his line of sight.

Rafe jumped slightly, jarred from his thoughts. "Lucy." He just stared at her for a moment, trying to gage how much she knew.

"I...I just talked to Alison," she continued tentatively.

He nodded. "So I guess you know then."

"Yeah. She told me everything." Unsure of what else to say, Lucy instead threw her arms around her cousin, hugging him as tight as she could. He hugged her back, enjoying the feeling of having someone who cared about him.

After holding the hug for a long moment, they broke apart and Lucy sat down next to him on the bench. "I would ask if you're okay but I think it's pretty obvious that you're not." She paused. "You know, Rafe, it's really, really weird because for the second time in one little day I'm almost speechless, and you know me, that doesn't happen very often." This caused him to crack the smallest of smiles. "So I guess I can just listen, because I actually can be a good listener."

Rafe leaned back, stretching his legs out in front of him. "I just don't know what to do. I don't know what to think, I don't know what to feel, I just...I don't know anything anymore."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "You know, I was really relieved to find you here. Alison told me that you stormed out and I was worried."

"You thought I went after Caleb," Rafe finished for her. "Well, I've already done that, and to be honest it got me nowhere."

Lucy breathed a little sigh of relief. "I'm really glad you see that. What Caleb did was...unspeakable. But you can't go after him when you're this upset, you're only going to get hurt."

"I wish I could just kill him," Rafe said viciously. "But you know what? I can't even do that." He suddenly tossed his head back and laughed. "Isn't that just perfect?"

"Rafe, even if you could, killing Caleb isn't going to get you anywhere. It won't undo...what happened."

"Yeah, but it would feel damn good," he said hungrily.

Lucy sat back for a minute, thinking. "What are you going to do?"

Rafe just shook his head. "I don't know." He hesitated before turning to face his cousin. "I was sent back to earth to be with Alison. I thought we'd be together forever. But now...I don't know if I can get past this, Lucy. I really don't."

Her eyes watered as she regarded him. "I know, cousin. I know." She paused, not sure if she should say anything more, but in the end she was unable to help herself. "Alison told me everything. She told me the whole, horrible story. And I agree that she made some very bad choices and she hurt you. But I also believe that woman loves you with everything she is. She didn't want any of this, cousin."

"I know that. Dammit, I _know_ that. And I wish I didn't love her anymore, I wish this made me stop loving her because it would make things a hell of a lot easier." He closed his eyes. "But every time I see her, I can't get the image out of my head of her and Caleb..." his voice trailed off. "The thought of his hands on her, of him...it makes me sick."

"Me too," Lucy said.

He paused. "I think I just need to get away. I can't deal with this anymore, I can't deal with her right now."

"You mean...you want to leave town?" Lucy asked, surprised.

"I don't know. I just know that I can't take this right now. It's just all too much. I mean...I was sent back to be with Alison. That's the only reason I'm here. And if I don't have her...I don't know what's left. I don't know who I am without her, and frankly I never thought I'd have to find out."

"So you need to do a little soul-searching," Lucy said, understanding.

He nodded. "I need to find out if I can be someone without her, what my purpose is. I just need a break from all of this."

"Do you know where you're going to take this break?" Lucy asked, uncharacteristically quiet.

"I don't know. Just somewhere far enough away from this."

Lucy hesitated, unsure of what to say. It was clear that Rafe had already made up his mind, and she doubted anything she said could make him decide to stay. "When? When are you leaving?"

Rafe let out a breath. "As soon as possible."

Finally she couldn't hold it in anymore. "Rafe, you know, I appreciate that you need to do a little soul-searching, really, I do. But are you sure that running away is the answer to all this?" Lucy said pleadingly.

"I am not running away!" he exclaimed defensively. "It won't be forever. Just long enough to clear my head. I need to figure out my life and..." his voice trailed off.

"If Alison still has a place in it," she finished for him. He nodded. Lucy reached out to touch his arm. "What about the baby?"

The pain was visible on his face as she spoke these words. "The baby isn't even mine," Rafe stated.

"You don't know that for sure. Alison really wants to do a DNA test," Lucy said tentatively. "I mean, I understand why you wouldn't want to, but if you did, it could at least settle that and maybe give you some more answers-"

"No. I'm not doing a DNA test. I mean, come _on_ Lucy! I shouldn't have to have a DNA test run to see who the father of my wife's baby is!" Rafe said loudly. "I just...I need to go."

Lucy took that as her cue to drop the subject. "Are you at least going to tell her you're leaving?"

He nodded. "All my stuff is at the apartment anyway." He glanced up at the sky. "It's going to be dark soon. I should go. If I'm lucky maybe I can catch a flight out tonight."

Lucy bit her lip, trying not to cry. "I'm really going to miss you, cousin."

Rafe reached out and hugged her tightly again. "Say goodbye to Ian for me. I'll call." Lucy clung to him, not wanting to let go, but at the same time understanding that this was something he had to do, and she had no right to stop him.

When they broke apart Rafe rose to his feet, regarding his cousin one last time. "And, um, do you think you could do me a favor?"

"Of course," Lucy agreed immediately.

His face looked unbearably sad. "Do you think you could just...you know, keep an eye on her? Just make sure she's safe?"

Lucy had to will herself not to cry. "You can count on it." She reached out and clutched his hand tightly. He gave her a smile.

"Goodbye, cousin. When I get wherever I'm going, I'll let you know."

"Goodbye, cousin. And I hope you find what you're looking for, and I hope you do it quick, because darn it, I'm going to miss you," she said tearily. Rafe smiled sadly before letting go of her hand and heading off.

When she was alone, Lucy sank onto the bench, wiping at her teary eyes before turning them up to the sky. "Universe, you know, I hate to say this, and I hoped I would never _have_ to say this, but...I'm really disappointed in you right now." She took a ragged breath. "Rafe and Alison are meant to be. At least I always thought they were. How could you let this happen to them? They've been through so much already. And Rafe, I'm really, really worried about Rafe. I know I just need to have faith, because that's what I always do and it's gotten me this far...but right now you're making it really hard." She sighed. "Really, really hard."

* * *

TBC! Please review, feedback means the world to me! 


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

After Lucy had left, Alison had sat idly for a while, just staring at the stack of wedding gifts. "What am I supposed to do with these now?" she said tiredly, bringing a hand to her forehead. Her marriage was in pieces and she had no idea if it was even possible to put them back together. For a moment she considered opening them, but knew that a new toaster oven wouldn't solve any of her problems. So she settled for putting them away in the closet. That way she didn't have to look at them, and it also satisfied the small part of her that was still hopeful she could work things out with Rafe. Then they could open the presents together.

Her stomach growled and she realized how hungry she was. After all, she was eating for two now. She instinctively thought of going over to Elixir to grab something to eat, and had actually grabbed her coat and purse before she realized that it was inevitable for her to run into someone she knew there. And how was she supposed to explain any of this? Once everyone found out about what she had done, she would be the disgrace of the town. Ian, Jack, Ricky, her mother...they had all watched her marry Rafe only days earlier, and she couldn't bear the thought of the shame she would feel when they found out what had happened. Frustrated, she threw her purse on the ground and headed back to the couch, running her hands through her hair. A knock on the door startled her.

Frowning, she slowly rose from the couch and headed to the door, peering through the peephole and gasping when she saw that Rafe was standing on the other side. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she opened it, facing him. "Hi," she whispered, not knowing what else to say.

"Can I come in?" he said solemnly, his arms crossed. She nodded quickly, swinging the door open wide. He entered the apartment, glancing around.

"I'm so glad you came back. I was really worried about you. Look, Rafe, I know that you probably hate me right now, and you have every reason to. But we really need to talk about some things," Alison said quietly.

He spun around to look at her. "I-I'm not here to talk, Alison. I'm here to get my things."

His words felt like a physical punch. Her mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out. "Y-you're leaving?" she finally managed.

He nodded, heading to the closet. "I need to get away for a while. From Port Charles, from everything. I'll just be a minute." She saw his expression change as he noticed the stack of presents inside the closet, but after only a moment's hesitation he continued what he had come for, grabbing his suitcase from the top shelf. He quickly moved to the dresser, where he proceeded to pull out clothes by the armful and shove them unceremoniously into the suitcase.

_No. I can't let him just leave. _Alison walked over to him, standing on the other side of the bed as he continued to pack. "Rafe, please, just talk to me. Scream at me, call me names, just say _something_."

Finally, he stopped packing long enough to look at her. "You want me to talk to you? You want me to tell you what I'm feeling?" She nodded. "Okay, well how about I feel numb. I don't know what to say to you, I don't know what to feel, I don't know what to think. I thought my place in this world was with you, I thought my life was meant to be with you, and now every time I look at you all I can think about is _his_ hands on you. I just can't be around you right now until I figure all of this out."

She bit her lip, ashamed by his bold words. "Rafe, he didn't mean anything. Caleb...it just happened Rafe, I didn't want it to, and I would do anything, _anything_ to undo what I did, but please know that I love _you_, Rafe. He means nothing."

He slammed the dresser drawer shut and moved to the bathroom with his suitcase. She heard a racket as he rummaged through cabinets and drawers, collecting his things. After taking a moment, she followed him, standing in the bathroom doorway. "Rafe, please don't go."

"I have to go, Alison. My mind is made up." He brushed past her as he exited the bathroom.

"Rafe, you can't just leave. What about...what about the baby?" she said bravely.

He refused to even look at her. "I'm not okay with a DNA test, if that's what you're asking."

"Rafe, please. You said that you need to figure things out. Wouldn't you be able to do that a lot better if you knew whether or not you had a child on the way?" Alison pleaded. "Rafe, this is the only way that any of us can start to maybe move on from this. We need to know."

"Well I'm saying no." He made a quick scan of the apartment, throwing a couple more things into his suitcase.

"Are you saying that because you're afraid? Because I am too. But we need to know this. And then we can go from there. But please, before you make this decision-"

"This decision is already made." He paused at the door. "Don't you think I wish it didn't have to come to this? I _hate_ this, I hate it!" He looked like he was in so much pain that her heart broke just looking at him. "I'm sorry, Alison. Goodbye." And before she could do anything to stop him, he was gone.

"No," she wailed, leaning against the wall. "No, Rafe, you can't go!"

She jumped when her cell phone rang from across the room. Groaning, she listened to the insistent ringing, making no move to answer it. Eventually she heard the little beep letting her know she had a voicemail. After a moment she dragged herself across the room and dialed her inbox, not surprised to hear her mother's voice.

"Alison? Alison, it's your mother. Will you please pick up the phone? I'm a little worried about you, sweetie. Please call me back when you get this. I love you."

She sighed as she put the phone back in her purse. What would she even say to her mother? Now that Rafe was leaving town she couldn't hide the fact that they were having problems any longer. Sooner or later everyone was going to know.

* * *

The next morning Alison stood in the entryway of the gym, taking a moment to compose herself before heading out to face the world. After a restless night, she had decided that she couldn't hide away in her apartment forever. She had gotten herself into this situation with the choices she had made, and now she had to deal with it. She bravely opened the door, almost running into a customer, gym bag in hand. "Oh, hi. Sorry, but we're closed," she said, trying to sound friendly.

He peered at the sign on the door, which did indeed read 'closed'. "Oh, that sucks. When are you guys going to open again?"

"I don't know, actually," she said quietly. "I'm very sorry for the inconvenience. Check back in a few days." He nodded and left.

Alison closed the door behind her. With everything that had happened, she'd barely thought about the gym. They had planned to have it closed this week anyway, since they were supposed to be on their honeymoon. But what was going to happen next week, or the week after? With Rafe gone and a baby on the way, she had no idea how she would find the energy to maintain the developing business. It made her sad, because the gym had been a dream come true for her and Rafe, and now, just like everything else about her life, it's future was up in the air. She forced the thought from her mind as she headed to Elixir.

When she reached the hangout, she stepped inside, hoping to order some food and slip out without having to go into any details about where she and Rafe had been. But her plan was ruined instantly when Frank called out to her from a table.

"Alison, hey," he said. "What are you doing here?"

She tried to smile. "Oh, well we decided to cut our honeymoon short-"

"No, I mean, one of the nurses over at GH saw Rafe at the airport last night. I assumed you were going with him, wherever he's going," Frank said, looking confused.

Her smile wavered. "Um, no, Rafe...he went alone. He just needed to get away for a little while. But he'll be back soon," she added hastily.

Frank frowned, obviously sensing that something was very wrong. "Is everything okay with you two?"

At that moment, Jack noticed Alison and came out from behind the bar. "Alison! We need to talk," he said abruptly. Alison allowed him to steer her away from Frank's questioning gaze to a table in the corner.

Alison could tell from the moment she looked at Jack's expression that he knew. "Alison...well first off, I'm glad you're okay. I've been worried about you, I was going to stop by today after my shift." He paused. "Livvie came to see me yesterday."

She sighed, folding her hands in her lap. "I can only imagine what she had to say."

Jack just stared at her. "Is it true? About you and Caleb and...the baby?"

_I guess she didn't leave anything out._ "Y-yes. It's true."

Jack leaned back in his chair, looking a little stunned. "Oh. Wow. Alison, I'm so sorry."

Alison raised her eyebrows. "You feel sorry for me? I don't even want to think about what Livvie probably said about me."

"She told me the whole story, about the wish she made on the ring, and what happened at that freaky Bed and Breakfast place. And if anything was perfectly clear, it was that Livvie started all of this."

Without thinking, Alison threw her arms around her friend. "Jack, I don't know what to do," she whispered.

He patted her back. "It'll be okay."

She pulled back. "No, Jack, see, that's the problem. I don't know if it will ever be okay again. You're right, Livvie did start this, but I certainly didn't help matters by not telling Rafe until it was too late."

"Why didn't you tell him? I mean, you never wanted Caleb, I'm sure he would have understood."

"I don't know. I guess I was just so scared to hurt Rafe that I thought it would be best for everyone if I just kept it a secret. But I didn't know about the...about the baby."

Jack looked at her. "Is Caleb really the father?"

"I don't know. I mean, I don't want to believe that it is. I was with Rafe too, and there has to be a possibility that it's his. But I can only get a DNA test if Rafe agrees to it, and he won't. And now he's gone. He's gone and I don't know when he's coming back," Alison said tearily.

Jack reached out and touched her hand. "Hey, it's okay. Who else knows?"

"Well, you, Rafe, Livvie, Caleb, Lucy. She came by yesterday and I told her everything. She was actually pretty understanding, considering how much I hurt Rafe. You know how much she loves him. But Jack..." Alison glanced around the restaurant. "Sooner or later everyone is going to know. Can you even imagine how they're going to look at me when they find out what I did?"

"Don't think like that. You didn't do anything wrong. Well, okay, you could have made some better choices. She should have went to Rafe right away after the thing with Caleb. I mean, that guy is crazy about you. It might have taken him a while, but I'm sure he would have understood."

Alison nodded. "I know. I was so stupid, I should have trusted Rafe, but instead I just made everything a thousand times worse." She paused. "So why did Livvie go to see you?"

Jack shook his head. "I don't know. She was looking for someone to feel sorry for her. She's pretty upset. I mean, Caleb dumped her at the altar, and she's convinced that you stole everything away from her."

She shook her head. "I can't believe her. She came to see me, you know, a couple days ago."

"I'm not surprised. Now that she's lost everything she has nothing better to do than run around blaming her pain on everyone else."

"But Jack...I just don't know what happens next. I feel like my whole life is like, in limbo. I don't know what to do," she said helplessly.

"Well just remember that you're not alone. I'm here for you."

Alison smiled. "You're a great friend, Jack. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Jack smiled back. "Well, I should get back to the customers. Can I get you anything?"

"Yeah, I'd really like a sandwich, actually. To go."

"You got it." Jack stood up and pushed his chair in. "Take care of yourself, Alison."

"I'll try," she said softly. As he left to go get her food, she glanced around the restaurant, relieved to see that Frank was gone and she didn't see anyone else she knew.

A few minutes later Jack returned, handing her a bag with a Styrofoam take-out container inside. "Here you go."

"Thank you. For everything." She gave him a quick hug.

"You're welcome. I'll talk to you soon, okay?" She nodded, squeezing his hand before heading outside.

As she zipped up her coat, she felt the strange feeling of someone watching her for the third time in the past few days. She stood still, glancing over her shoulder, but saw no one. "That's weird," she said to herself, before walking home a little faster than usual.

* * *

TBC!

I just want to say that it's a little disappointing when you post a chapter and see that although 70 people have viewed it, only ONE took the time to review. I mean, come on guys. You can do better than that. A quick note is all I ask. Just take a minute of your time and let me know what you think and if you're still enjoying this story. And a big thank you to the few of you who have been reviewing. You're the best.


	12. Chapter 11

A/N: I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter: Steph, Lady of the Lake12, Leesa, Melody, Lexicon, and Ms. Brit. Much appreciated! Please continue to spare a moment of your time to let me know what you think of the story!

* * *

Chapter 11

The next morning Alison was still in bed when someone knocked on the door. She froze, glancing at the clock on the bedside table. It was after ten. Her mind quickly ran through the handful of people who might be at the door. Deciding that she didn't want to talk to any of them at the moment, she flipped her pillow and rolled over so her back was to the door.

"Alison? Alison, it's your mother. I know you're in there."

She sat up, closing her eyes. Out of that handful of people, her mother was the one she _least_ wanted to see.

More pounding on the door. "Alison, please open the door. If you don't I'm going to find a way to break it down."

She couldn't exactly avoid her mother forever. Deciding that facing the music was better than having to pay to have her door fixed, she slowly swung her feet over the side of the bed and padded barefoot to the door, swinging it open. "Good morning, mother," she said tiredly.

Elizabeth, already perfectly made up and dressed in slim black pants and a white blouse designed to show off her cleavage, quickly took in Alison's pajamas and bed hair. "Oh, sweetheart, come here," she said, throwing her arms around her daughter before she could protest. At first Alison stiffened, but eventually she relaxed and accepted the hug.

When they pulled away, Elizabeth was peering at her daughter with an expression of pity. "I heard about Rafe leaving town," she said timidly.

"News travels fast in a small town," Alison muttered to herself, closing the door behind her mother. She thought about the best thing to say. "Rafe...he's coming back. He just...look, it's kind of complicated-"

"Well that's why I'm here. Whatever you need to talk about, I can listen." She reached out and took Alison's hand. "When I heard I was just so...surprised. You're newlyweds, what reason could Rafe possibly have for leaving town now?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it as a dizzying rush of nausea overtook her entire body. Wrenching her hand from her mother's, she bolted to the bathroom, where she proceeded to throw up the remnants of last night's sandwich from the Recovery Room into the toilet.

"Alison? Are you alright?" an alarmed Elizabeth dashed to the bathroom door, which Alison had managed to partially close behind her even in her haste. She heard the toilet flushing, and a moment later Alison emerged, pale and weary. "Oh my God, what's the matter? Are you sick? Here, sit down." She guided her daughter back to bed, forcing her to sit down.

"No, it's okay. I'm fine now." And she was, as unpleasant as the morning sickness was, at least it passed fairly quickly. She looked down at her bare feet, absently examining the chipped pink nail polish on her toenails, waiting for the inevitable.

To her credit, Elizabeth put two and two together a lot quicker than Alison had expected. A look of realization dawned on the older woman's face. "Oh Alison...are you...are you pregnant?" She took Alison's silence as an affirmative. "Oh my God, you told Rafe that you're pregnant and he _left_ you? That bastard-"

"It's a little more complicated than that," Alison said quietly. She took a bottle of water from the nightstand and took a sip, trying to rinse the foul taste from her mouth.

"How can it be more complicated than that? Sweetie, you're _pregnant_ and your husband of less than a week up and leaves? There is no excuse for that," Elizabeth went on, furious.

"Mother...this isn't Rafe's fault. I screwed up. I made a really, really bad mistake and I messed things up with Rafe." She braced herself for what she knew had to come next.

"Honey, what could you have possibly done that could justify him leaving you like this?" Elizabeth asked, not understanding.

"I slept with Caleb," she finally said, eager to just get it out. She didn't allow herself to look at her mother's expression. "Livvie stole Caleb's ring and made a wish. But it backfired. I was with Caleb at the time, and we ended up together. We didn't know what we were doing. I decided after that it would be best to not tell Rafe and just forget it ever happened, but of course that was the worst thing I could have done. Now I'm pregnant and the baby might be Caleb's."

Silence filled the apartment as Elizabeth attempted to absorb that information. It must have been nearly a minute before she responded. "B-but, Caleb can't have children. He's a vampire."

"I know, that's what I said at first too. But apparently Livvie thought of everything when she made that wish. She wished for a child, and since I was with him there's a chance that this baby is his."

"A chance, you said a chance. So you mean that it still could be Rafe's?" Alison finally brought herself to look at her mother and saw that she looked more than a little dazed.

"Well, yes. I was with Rafe that day too. But anyway, after the wedding Rafe found out about everything, and he decided he needed to get away for a little while."

"That little bitch," Elizabeth said unexpectedly. Alison looked up, startled. "Livvie! That selfish little bitch has never done anything but hurt you. And I'm sure that Caleb is loving every second of this."

"Livvie made some bad choices, but so did I," Alison reminded her. "I should have gone to Rafe right away, and even though he would have been hurt beyond words, we could have worked through it together. But instead I told more lies, and now..." her voice trailed off.

"Alison, I understand that you felt as if you couldn't go to Rafe. But why didn't you come to me? I could have helped you," Elizabeth said, a little hurt.

Alison just shook her head. "No, mom, I couldn't have come to you. You're so busy with this, this clothing line and everything-"

"You know that's not important, not compared to you. Baby, you should have come to me."

"Well I'm sorry, mother, but it isn't exactly like I've been used to having my mother as a confidante my whole life." She stood up, facing her mother. "In case you forgot, you just came back into my life less than a year ago, and even since then our relationship hasn't exactly been the greatest."

"But I'm your _mother_! You know you can talk to me about anything," Elizabeth pleaded.

Alison brought her hands to her head. "I didn't think it was possible, but somehow you managed to make even this all about you."

"That's not what I'm doing, sweetheart, I just want you to know that I'm here for you."

"Well you know what, maybe I don't need your help. I've screwed things up this much on my own, and now I have to live with it. I've managed just fine without you before, so don't expect to just waltz in here and all of a sudden be best friends."

"Alison, I just want to help. Just tell me what you need!" Elizabeth begged, reaching out for her.

Alison headed for the door. "Right now I really need you to just go. I'm tired, and I have a lot to do. Please just go."

"You can't do this on your own!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"I'll call you when I need something. I really will. But right now I can't take this from you. I can't have you making me feel guilty too. So please, mother. If you love me, just go." Alison held the door open expectantly.

Elizabeth stood there helplessly for a second before walking over and giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead. "Okay. I'll go, but don't think for a second I'm walking out on you Alison. Whether you like it or not, I'm going to help you through this." Finally she left, the clacking of her stilettos echoing down the hallway.

Alison closed the door with relief. She hadn't even been awake for fifteen minutes and already she felt as if she'd run a marathon. Nothing sounded more appealing than curling back up in her bed for several more hours and just forgetting about the rest of the world. But her own words echoed in her mind. _Now I have to live with it_, she'd said. She had accepted her mistakes, and as many times as she'd tried to wish them away or fix things, some actions were irreversible.

"I can't just sit here and feel sorry for myself," she said quietly. "What's done is done, and now I need to go on." Moving on with her life without Rafe was the last thing on earth she wanted to do, and she knew that it would take everything she had.

"That's it. That's it, Alison. This pity party is over. No more sitting around moping in this apartment. There's no reason for you to put your life on hold just because so many things are up in the air." Her hand absentmindedly found its way to her still flat stomach. "I can do this." With newfound confidence, she hurried to the bathroom to get ready. She had a lot to do if she wanted to attempt to get her life back on track.

* * *

Several hours later Jack walked through the door of Body and Soul and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight that greeted him. The gym was open for business, and there were several patrons working out. Eyebrows raised, he scanned the room, finally finding Alison talking to a customer, a clipboard in hand. Her hair and makeup were done, she was dressed in one of her trademark sweat suits, and from looking at her you would never know everything she was going through at the moment. He smiled proudly as he watched her. When she looked up he got her attention with a wave, and she came over to greet him. "Jack, hey," she said, her face flushed.

"Wow, so I guess you decided to open the place back up," he said. He took a step closer to her, speaking with concern. "Are you sure you're ready to handle this, you know, by yourself?"

She straightened her back and nodded. "Yes. I came to the conclusion today that I can't just sit around and dwell on the past and put my entire life on hold. I need to try to keep going, not just for me but for this little baby."

Jack looked at her, impressed. "I'm proud of you. If I were in your position I don't know if I'd be able to get out of bed, much less run a business on my own."

She sighed. "Well I can't say that I didn't consider it. But I think I owe it to myself to try to keep up some semblance of a normal life."

Jack nodded. "Well hey, do you need any help with anything? I just got off my shift at Elixir, and I thought I'd come by to see how you're doing...but apparently you're doing just fine without my help."

She reached out to touch his arm. "No, that's not true. You don't know how much it means to me just to know that I have a friend who's here for me, no matter what."

"What are friends for?" He smiled. "But really, I'm sure managing this place on your own isn't easy. I'm pretty busy with the club, but whatever you need I can try to help as much as I can."

"Thanks, I really appreciate that. I might end up taking you up on that, I never really realized how much Rafe used to do around here." Her face clouded over at the mention of his name, but she managed to shake it off. "But I need to stop doing that. Rafe is gone, and instead of sitting here waiting for him to back to me, I need to take control of my own life. I owe it to this baby."

* * *

"...so it appears that she has re-opened their gym for business. Also, she had a visitor this morning, her mother."

"Elizabeth, of course," Caleb said with distaste. "And there's no sign of our friend the slayer?"

"No, sir, not since he was seen boarding a plane at the airport two days ago. It seems that he's out of the picture for a while."

Caleb nodded. "Thank you, Zach. Keep watching her and keep me posted." The vampire exited the room, leaving his master alone. He reclined in his chair, considering the latest developments. "Well, Alison, it appears I've underestimated you once again." He shook his head with a satisfied smile. "I think my child is in very good hands."

* * *

TBC!

Please take a moment to review! It means the world to me, and it really only takes a minute of your time. Thank you!


	13. Chapter 12

A/N: Thanks again to everyone who has continued to follow this story. I'm hoping to pick up the pace and get chapters out more quickly; my goal is to complete this story by the time I go away to college in the fall. So stay tuned, and please take a moment to review!

Chapter 12

Two weeks later

Lucy walked into Body & Soul, her straight brown hair falling perfectly around her shoulders as she tentatively scanned the room. She was surprised to see the place busier than ever. Upbeat music was playing and there were at least a dozen customers working out. Initially she felt a burst of pride at seeing the business she had helped her cousin get off the ground obviously thriving, only to have her heart fall when she remembered that Rafe had been gone for over two weeks now. Other than a thirty-second phone call a day after he'd left informing her that he had gotten to his destination safely, she hadn't heard from him. He hadn't even told her where he was.

"Lucy, hi," Alison said, interrupting her thoughts. Lucy glanced up to see a slightly-tired looking Alison in a pink sweat suit approaching her with a smile. "It's so good to see you."

"Yes, you too." Lucy managed a small smile. Truth be told she did have some hard feelings towards Alison. She would never forget how broken Rafe had been that night in the park before leaving town, and she had done this to him. But she also believed that this situation wasn't entirely Alison's fault, and besides, she had made a promise to Rafe that she would keep an eye on his wife while he was away. "So, how are you? You look wonderful," she said.

Alison blushed. "Thank you. I'm...I'm okay. I mean, obviously I've been better, but I'm just taking it day by day, and I'm spending a lot of time doing stuff down here. I never really realized just how much work it was to keep this place up and running."

"Well it certainly looks like you're doing a fabulous job." She paused. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, unfortunately the morning sickness is still going strong and I have to pee every five minutes, but other than that I feel pretty good." _At least physically, _the blonde thought to herself.

"That's good, I'm glad to hear it." There was a brief awkward silence. Finally Alison couldn't hold it in anymore and blurted out the question that had been on her mind ever since Lucy had walked in the door.

"Have you heard from Rafe?" she asked quietly, hating every syllable. She had never thought that she would need to ask someone else if they'd heard from her husband.

"He called me about a day after he left. He told me he arrived safely, but didn't say where he was. Other than that, no." Lucy saw Alison's face fall slightly and she couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the other woman. "Hey...Rafe's coming back, you know. He just needed to clear his head and sort through everything, but he'll be back. There is no doubt in my mind."

"I hope you're right," Alison said softly. "But I just...I feel like I'm in limo here. I feel like I'm waiting for something that I don't even know what it is. Without Rafe's consent I can't know for sure who the father of my baby is, I have no idea where my marriage stands, and every day is a day closer to this baby coming into the world, and I don't know what kind of life is going to be waiting for him or her. How am I supposed to plan for a baby when I don't even have control of my own life?"

Instinctively, Lucy reached out to touch Alison's arm. "It's going to be okay. This baby is going to be loved, you never need to doubt that. You're going to be an amazing mother."

"Babies need more than that, Lucy. I mean, come on, if anyone knows that it's you and I. We grew up without much of a family. We never really had parents. All my life I have sworn to myself that the day I have a child I will spare them from going through that pain."

"I know. I want more than anything for this child to be Rafe's and for the two of you to move past all of this darkness and have a wonderful family together."

"That's all I ever wanted too." Alison reached up to wipe a tear from her eye. "I'm sorry, I'm really emotional these days."

"Well you need to try to not stress yourself out like this, it's not good for the baby," Lucy reminded her.

"I know, I know. That's what I was trying to do with opening the gym again and everything, I thought that if I went ahead with business as usual it would help me feel more in control or something, but really nothing has changed. I don't know how to fix this," she confessed.

Lucy tilted her head, giving Alison a sympathetic glance. "Well the best thing you can do right now is take care of yourself and this baby. That's all you need to focus on. The universe will take care of the rest."

"I wish I had as much faith as you," Alison said with a sigh.

Lucy frowned. "Hey, you used to be the queen of faith. You saved Rafe's soul by making him fall in love with you when all the odds were stacked against it, you two overcame so much by having faith! You can't tell me that you're giving up on that now."

"I'm not. But sometimes it's really hard," she confessed.

"Um, excuse me. I was wondering if you could help me with one of the machines," a male customer asked from behind Alison.

"Of course, just a second," she said with a smile. She turned back to Lucy. "Well I have to go, but thanks for stopping by. It was good to see you."

"You too. Take care of yourself, and whatever you do, don't lose faith. I know that the universe will put everything right in the end," Lucy reassured her, squeezing her hand. Alison nodded in response. With one last smile Lucy turned and exited the gym. Alison took a deep breath and closed her eyes, composing herself before plastering on her brightest smile as she went to deal with the customer.

* * *

That night Alison trudged wearily up the steps to the apartment, her eyes beginning to close already. Just the thought of her bed was enough to make her collapse with relief. She turned the key in the lock and walked in, only to gasp loudly when she realized she wasn't alone.

"Hello Alison. I'm sorry if I startled you," Caleb said. He was standing across the apartment, leaning against the wall and studying her.

Alison glared at him. "What the hell are you doing in my house? You scared me half to death. Can't you use the door like a normal person? Oh, that's right, I forgot, you're not even a person at all."

"I simply thought that if I just knocked on the door you probably wouldn't let me in, and I needed to see you." He scanned her from head to toe in a manner that made her feel suddenly uncomfortable. "You look wonderful. Pregnancy agrees with you."

She closed the door slowly behind her. "What do you want, Caleb?" she said wearily.

"Is it a crime to check on the mother of my child?" He approached her, producing a stuffed animal from the inside of his jacket. "And I wanted to give you this, for the baby."

She had to suppress a smile at the sight of the sweet little stuffed lamb, taking a moment to marvel at the irony of someone like Caleb choosing such an innocent-looking stuffed animal. She took it from him cautiously. "That's very sweet of you, but remember that there is still no proof that this baby is even yours."

"Oh, still on that, are we?" he said dismissively.

She clutched the soft stuffed animal to her chest, looking up at him defensively. "Until I have proof one way or the other, I will not accept that you are the father of this child."

"Fine, if it's proof you want, we can get proof. There has to be some way to do a DNA test," Caleb said.

"Yes, there is, but the thing is that I would need Rafe's consent. And Rafe's...away," she said, avoiding Caleb's eyes.

Caleb considered that for a moment. "You do realize that there are ways around that little obstacle, if this is so important to you, that is."

She slowly looked at him again. "What do you mean?"

He gave her a look. "Come on, a smart girl like you and it never crossed your mind that you could get a test done on your own?"

"Are you telling me to go behind Rafe's back? Break the law?" Alison asked incredulously. "No, I'm never going to lie to Rafe again. I won't do that to him."

"Sweetheart, Rafe isn't here. No offense, but you don't even know if he's coming back."

"He _is_ coming back. He just needed to get away to clear his mind and sort everything out, and I don't blame him. His world was turned upside down, he deserves some time to deal with that." It was her natural instinct to continue to defend Rafe, even though sometimes while she lied alone at night she almost hated him for leaving her like this, when she was most vulnerable. But she still couldn't stand to see Caleb- or anyone, for that matter, but especially Caleb- talk badly about her husband, no matter what the circumstances.

Caleb held up his hands. "Okay, whatever you say. But remember Alison, you need to put yourself and this child first. Rafe's removed himself from the equation by leaving you."

Alison didn't really know what to say. She found herself absentmindedly stroking the soft plush of the stuffed lamb. "Look, are we done here? Because I'm really exhausted."

He nodded slowly. "We're done. But hey, try not to work yourself so hard. It's not good for the baby." He started to head towards the door before pausing and turning back round to face Alison. "And don't forget about my offer. It still stands."

She definitely hadn't forgotten his offer to move in with him at the villa, in fact it had snuck its way into her thoughts more often than she'd liked. But she played it cool, answering simply. "I know. And thank you. For the lamb," she added quickly, holding it up.

He gave her a half-smile. "You're welcome." Suddenly he reached out and brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face with a surprising gentleness. "Take care, Alison." Before she could respond he showed himself to the door and let himself out.

She stood still for a few moments before slowly making her way to the bed. She propped the lamb against her pillow before sitting down to remove her shoes, shaking her head to try and forget about what had just happened. She hated the fact that the way he had touched her just now had...excited her. Was she crazy? This was Caleb, the man who put her and Rafe through hell so many times, who had deceived her by turning her wedding into a game controlled by him and set up to make everyone miserable in the end.

But something about the way he'd looked at her with genuine concern had gotten to her. She'd almost forgotten what it felt like to know that someone really cared what happened to her. Sure, she had Jack and Lucy, but somehow it wasn't quite the same. She knew that the main reason Caleb was being so nice to her was that he believes she's carrying his child...but she had a feeling that even if the baby turned out to be Rafe's, he would still care what happened to her. After all, she had almost considered him her friend once before all of this had started.

"What am I doing, stop thinking about him." Alison absently moved the stuffed lamb to the night stand, propping it against her alarm clock. She changed into her favorite nightgown and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth quickly before finally climbing into bed. She couldn't help but moan out loud at how good the warm covers felt around her after a long day. Alison placed a hand gently on her stomach, smiling to herself. "Good night, baby." As she reached over and turned out the light, the last thing she saw before closing her eyes was the little white lamb, staring back at her innocently.

* * *

TBC, please review! 


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